WLWT5 reports four people, including three Miami University of Ohio football players, have been charged for their alleged involvement in a huge brawl at a frat house near the school's Oxford, Ohio campus earlier this month.
Tight end James Bomba, 19, has been charged with assault and criminal trespassing; wide receiver Dimitri Mitsopoulos, 19, has been handed two counts of assault, and two counts of trespassing and disorderly conduct; defensive back Terrell Rush, 18, faces one charge of trespassing. These charges stem from an October 3 fight at the Theta Chi fraternity house that resulted in four members being sent to the hospital.
Members of Theta Chi, speaking on condition of anonymity, have since talked out about the melee, described the incident as a "full-on ambush" that escalated when some uninvited guests showed up trying to cause trouble. "They just started, like, throwing punches," a witness said. "They had three guys to one, just like chasing people down. Three people on one, beating them up and kicking them on the ground. It definitely felt like an attack because they had control of all of the area around the building."
The Theta Chi members who were sent to the hospital sustained their injuries after being struck with a golf club and baseball bat. In a letter to the students, Miami University Vice President for Student Life Jayne Brownell said the attackers were "a group of students," but acknowledged that a police investigation is still ongoing.
"Three of those charged are first-year students who are on the roster of the football team; the fourth individual is not affiliated with Miami University," the university said in a statement. "All three of the football players are suspended from all team activities immediately and remain suspended from the program indefinitely."
Rush has released a statement of his own maintaining his innocence. "I have been cleared from any charges regarding the fight, and it has been proven I was not involved. The detectives know, and I was not involved in any fight," he wrote. "I wasn't there. I walked up after the fact. I don't even know who was involved, but I know I wasn't. I have been wrongfully accused of the fight, and I have since then been cleared by Ohio detectives of fighting."
The brawl was captured on camera, and can be seen below.
