Head coach Kelvin Sampson suspended DeJon Jarreau after the junior guard appeared to bite a Cincinnati player in the Cougars’ Saturday night loss to the Bearcats. | Mikol Kindle Jr./The Cougar
DeJon Jarreau will sit for the Cougars’ Thursday night home game against the Tulane Green Wave after head coach Kelvin Sampson suspended the junior guard for his actions in the Cougars’ Saturday loss at Cincinnati.
Jarreau, who finished with five points and six assists in the 64-62 loss, was ejected late in matchup with a flagrant 2 foul after officials determined he bit a player while chasing for a loose ball.
Sampson disagreed with the call, saying after the game, “There was no bite” in the now-viral film initially circulated by ESPN he and his coaching staff reviewed involving Cincinnati’s Keith Williams.
But after a new angle, shown below, surfaced that appeared to show Jarreau biting Cincinnati’s Mamoudou Diarra, Sampson reversed course.
Jarreau bites Diarra @CincyProblems pic.twitter.com/FcZcZioihJ
— Joey F (@JoeyF3223) February 2, 2020
“In the initial video clip I requested and saw immediately after Saturday’s game at Cincinnati, I did not believe there was a bite on Keith Williams,” Sampson said in a Sunday statement. “My initial statements in Saturday’s postgame press conference were based on the video from the early part of that scrum.”
While Jarreau’s suspension is team-imposed, the American Athletic Conference is still investigating the incident and could come down with more punishment for the guard as early as Monday, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Jarreau is averaging 9.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game for the 17-5 Cougars.
