Ryan Day, Ohio State's head coach, answers media questions about K'Vaughan Pope's escort off the field against Akron. (0:28).
K'Vaughan Pope, Ohio State's senior linebacker, has been fired from the team after a highly publicized incident that occurred on Saturday. He was taken off the field during Ohio State's win against Akron. According to Ryan Day's statement on Sunday.
Day said in the news release that K'Vaughan would continue to be eligible for programs that benefit student-athletes like our Student-Athlete Support Services Office and that he will receive support with his journey toward graduation. He will continue to receive scholarship support for the remainder of the semester.
Lettermen Row reports that Pope attempted to enter the game during the second quarter, but was stopped by Teradja Mitchell, a linebacker. Pope made his way toward the locker room but was stopped by an Ohio State employee who brought him back to the sidelines.
According to reports, Pope then threw the gloves in the stands and tried to remove his jersey from the sideline. Before he was taken into the locker room by staffers, a few Ohio State coaches spoke with him.
Pope tweeted "f--- Ohio State" in a now-deletted tweet while the game was still being played. Pope also tweeted "good luck to my teammates" and posted that tweet on his Twitter feed.
Pope issued an apology tweet on Sunday
"Last night, I let my emotions take over." He wrote that he wanted to express his regrets to his teammates, coaches, and Buckeye Nation. "I made a mistake. I know that I must improve and do better. I will use this time to reflect on my mental health and make improvements.
Pope has been a part of 33 career games and has had three tackles this year. Pope is the second former linebacker to be cut from the program within the last week. Dallas Gant, who saw very little playing time this season, entered the transfer portal Wednesday.
