Florida State dismisses RB Mario Pender after arrest
UPDATED Sunday, 4:30 p.m.:
The Tallahassee Democrat has obtained details of the police report describing the allegations against Pender.
According to the witness who called police, Pender drug a woman by her hair inside a house after the two had been arguing in the front yard.
The incident happened before 10 a.m. Saturday. From the Democrat:
The first TPD officer on the scene heard a woman screaming inside the one-story home and a man yelling at her. Court documents said the officer pushed the front door open and found Pender straddling the woman with his hands around her neck.
The officer then pointed their gun at Pender and commanded him to get off the woman and lie on the ground. Pender, court documents said, told the officer the two were "just wrestling." He got off the woman and was handcuffed.
The woman, who has a 1-year-old with Pender, said she was in the midst of ending their longtime relationship. His resisting arrest charge came from refusing to get in the police car – before eventually relenting – until Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher arrived.
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Running back Mario Pender is no longer a member of the Florida State football team.
Pender was dismissed from the Seminoles on Saturday after he was arrested earlier in the day on domestic violence-related charges.
"Florida State Athletics announced today that Mario Pender has been permanently dismissed from the football team following his arrest earlier in the day. The Athletics Department will have no further comment at this time."
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Per Warchant.com, Pender has been charged with domestic battery by strangulation and resisting an officer.
A highly-touted prospect out of high school, Pender's Florida State career has been marred by an inability to see the field. After he redshirted in 2012 he was academically ineligible for the 2013 season. He played the first three games of 2015 and missed the rest of the season after suffering a collapsed lung. He had 30 carries for 140 yards and a touchdown in those three games.
Pender had 41 carries for 206 yards and four scores in 2014 and was set to be a redshirt senior in 2016.
He was a four-star recruit in the class of 2012 and was the No. 4 running back in the country according to Rivals.
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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!
