The high school coach of a San Jose State football player who allegedly struck a teammate in the face with a skateboard said he was shocked to learn of his former player’s involvement in the altercation.
Sources told this newspaper that incoming freshman defensive back Bomani Bassette-Hairston of Oakland was the other player involved in Tuesday’s incident that sent redshirt freshman safety Chad Miller to the hospital.
Miller, in a tweet that has since been deleted, said he was released from the hospital Tuesday night and suffered three fractures near his eye. He wrote that a teammate “hit me in my face with his skateboard when I wasn’t looking” and refuted the characterization that they were involved in a fight.
The San Jose State University Police Department was called to the scene Tuesday night at an on-campus dormitory, but no arrests were made.
Michael Peters, who coached Bassette-Hairston at Oakland’s McClymonds High, said this incident was out of character for a player he has gotten to know well.
“It’s a big, big surprise,” Peters said. “I’ve had Bomani around me since he was an eighth grader and he’s never gotten into any altercations, not even any arguments.”
A San Jose State team spokesman confirmed Wednesday that a player had been suspended from team activities a result of this incident but wouldn’t confirm it was Bassette-Hairston The University Police Department also declined to identify Bassette-Hairston as the other player involved, with Cpt. Alan Cavallo saying they weren’t yet releasing that information.
Bassette-Hairston is the second member of San Jose State’s well-touted February signing class to find himself in trouble even before training camp opens Aug. 4. Wide receiver Kanya Bell of Compton was dismissed from the program Saturday, a day after he was arrested for domestic assault against a female.
Bassette-Hairston, a 6-foot, 180-pound defensive back, was a two-star rated recruit by Scout.com and Rivals.com.
