Report: Baylor offensive lineman arrested for stalking
UPDATE (9 a.m. ET Tuesday)
Hammad is no longer listed on Baylor’s roster.
#Baylor junior OL Rami Hammad no longer listed on official team roster following Monday arrest.
— Craig Smoak (@CraigSmoak) August 3, 2016
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Baylor offensive lineman Rami Hammad has been charged with felony stalking from an incident in July.
Per the Waco Tribune-Herald, Hammad waited for his ex-girlfriend before she had a class on campus on July 7. She told him to leave and he didn’t comply. She asked the professor of the class to walk out with her and Hammad followed the two to the professor’s office, where he knocked on the door before the woman called 911 on him after they allegedly attempted to call Baylor’s athletic department.
According to arrest affidavits, he said he was worried about her safety and had been searching for her. The woman, fearing Hammad, has now moved out of state and a spokesperson for the team told the paper he was suspended from all team activities following his arrest.
Hammad was booked into McLennan County Jail shortly before 5:30 p.m. Monday on a third-degree felony stalking charge.
According to the arrest affidavit, the woman told officers Hammad would not leave her alone and that she had taken “extensive measures” to keep Hammad from knowing her whereabouts before starting summer classes, including driving a vehicle and subleasing a home Hammad didn’t know about.
There’s an even more troubling aspect to the story as well.
The woman told investigators she believed she and Hammad ended their relationship in early May and that Hammad was a “manipulative individual and was very persuasive in his attempts to mend their relationship,” the arrest affidavit states.
She told an officer that she feared for Hammad’s mental health and the effects of her attempts to block contact with him, including ignoring phone calls, text messages and blocking his phone number. She told officers he had spoken about suicide, according to the affidavit.
The woman also told police she had been abused on multiple occasions in the past by Hammad. In once instance, after he drove to Dallas to convince her to return to Waco with him.
“She advised they returned to Waco without incident, but Hammad began crying in the parking lot of the Highers Simpson Athletic Center parking lot on Baylor University campus,” the arrest affidavit states. “She described Hammad as very emotional, and during the course of the incident, (he) grabbed her by the arm and pushed her against the wall inside the Allison Indoor Practice Facility.”
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A native of Irving, Texas, Hammad was projected to be Baylor’s starting right guard in 2016 according to the team’s website. He played in 13 games in 2015 after sitting out the 2014 season following a transfer from Texas. Hammad was the No. 171 recruit in the country in the class of 2013 according to Rivals.
His arrest comes as Baylor is moving to rebuild its reputation following revelations of its improper handling of sexual assault allegations. While two former players are in prison regarding rape charges, former defensive end Shawn Oakman is currently facing sexual assault charges.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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