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New Mexico State University announced Friday night its men’s basketball program has been indefinitely suspended, according to The Associated Press. The school also placed first-year coach Greg Heiar and his staff on paid administrative leave for “violations of university policy.”
Though a reason behind the moves was not given, the university did say the decision is unrelated to a deadly shooting involving NMSU power forward Mike Peake on Nov. 19. Peake, 21, was shot in the leg at the University of New Mexico hours before a rivalry game between the two schools.
He was reportedly lured to the campus by 19-year-old Brandon Travis and three other NMSU students, including a 17-year-old girl. Travis was also shot during the exchange and later died from his injuries. Peake was suspended in early December while a third-party investigator looked into his involvement in the shooting.
Peake has not been charged, and a December report from KOAT stated that video evidence showed three teammates – Issa Muhammed, Marchelus Avery and Anthony Roy – pick him up at the scene in a yellow Camaro before police arrived. They reportedly took him to a hospital.
NEW MEXICO STATE BASKETBALL PLAYER WAS ‘LURED’ TO CAMPUS BY FOUR UNM STUDENTS AHEAD OF FATAL SHOOTING: POLICE
Then-LSU assistant coach Greg Heiar, center, shouts from the sideline during the team’s NCAA men’s college basketball tournament game against Yale in Jacksonville, Fla., March 21, 2019. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)
The board of regents released a separate statement saying it supported “the action taken by the university leaders and is confident a full and thorough investigation will be conducted,” according to The AP. It’s not known if or when the program will be reinstated.
The district attorney in Albuquerque is conducting a separate investigation.
The shutdown of a Division I program midseason is extremely rare outside the COVID-19 outbreak or many players with injuries. Southern Methodist University’s football…
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