Yahoo Finance UCF coach Josh Heupel apologizes after players allegedly heckle officer during Antwan Collier's arrest
UCF coach Josh Heupel issued an apology on Monday night after several of his players were allegedly street racing near campus last week, which led to the arrest of defensive back Antwan Collier.
Multiple players, including Collier, were pulled over by police near campus early on Thursday morning. Five players then allegedly walked up on the scene as police were speaking with Collier and others in the car and allegedly started heckling the officers.
“I want to make it abundantly clear that the behavior of some of our football players last Thursday was completely inappropriate,” Heupel said in a statement, via the Orlando Sentinel. “Those actions are not who we are or what we’re about. They are not representative of our university or our program. That’s not us, that’s not UCF, that’s not UCF Football, and we have to be better than that.
“On behalf of our program, I want to apologize to everyone associated with UCF. It’s our responsibility to represent the University in the appropriate manner and it is essential that our players understand that.”
UCF player arrested, others allegedly heckle officers
Collier, per the report, was driving one of the two cars allegedly racing that was pulled over. Three other players, defensive backs Aaron Robinson and Brandon Moore and linebacker Eric Mitchell, were in the car with him.
Officers said they smelled marijuana in the car and found a backpack with a “loaded AR 15 semi-automatic rifle with a magazine inserted” and a “Glock pistol with an extended magazine.”
Mitchell, per the report, has a valid concealed carry license. A third gun was found under the driver's seat that belongs to Collier, who said he has a concealed carry permit but officers said they couldn’t prove it existed. He had also left his driver’s license at home.
Collier was arrested and charged with both driving without a license and carrying a firearm without a license.
During the arrest, five other players walked up to the car and “shouted insults at police,” per the report. The four players in the car were initially calm, as seen on body camera footage, but then “some lost their composure and joined others cursing at police as officers finished taking Collier into custody,” according to the Sentinel.
Five players, including Collier, Mitchell and Moore, didn’t travel with the Knights to Houston for their 44-21 win on Saturday.
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