A pair of SEC East teams got some news on players in legal trouble this week.
Florida receiver Chris Thompson, investigated for simple battery, and Tennessee offensive lineman Coleman Thomas, charged with felony theft, both saw their cases dismissed.
Thompson, who is competing to start at receiver opposite Demarcus Robinson, got into an argument with a female with whom he previously had been intimate. The woman, angered by a text she found on Thompson’s phone, refused to give it back. Thompson allegedly scratched her neck in the process of trying to get his phone back.
RELATED: Florida WR Chris Thompson investigated for simple battery
According to Alachua County court records, investigators dismissed the case Monday due to a lack of evidence. Thompson’s status with the football team wasn’t immediately clear, according to 247Sports, though coach Jim McElwain said the receiver was “excused from the team” while he dealt with the incident.
Thomas, a sophomore offensive lineman for the Vols, was arrested last month in connection with a student’s report of a stolen Xbox and video games from a university dormitory. According to the warrent, Thomas took the items to a Knoxville GameStop store for money.
The charges were dropped during a Monday morning court appearance, Thomas’ lawyer told The Tennessean.
Thomas appeared in 11 games last season and has been reinstated to the team immediately.
An itinerant journalist, Christopher has moved between states 11 times in seven years. Formally an injury-prone Division I 800-meter specialist, he now wanders the Rockies in search of high peaks.
