UM dismisses DE Clark after arrest

Associated Press

ANN ARBOR, Mich.

Defensive end Frank Clark was dismissed from the Michigan football team on Monday, the same day he pleaded not guilty to assault and domestic violence charges for allegedly beating up a woman at an Ohio hotel over the weekend.

Perkins Township officers said they responded to calls about a disturbance at the hotel and found Clark in the parking lot with bloody scratches on his nose and the odor of alcohol “emanating” from him, according to the police report. Inside, they found two broken lamps and the woman, Diamond Hurt, with a welt on her cheek and blood on one side of her head.

Hurt’s 15-year-old brother told police Clark “grabbed (Hurt) by her throat, picked her up off the ground and slammed her to the ground while also landing on top of her.”

Clark pleaded not guilty in Sandusky Municipal Court to single counts of domestic violence and assault. His bond was set at $3,000, and court officials say a pretrial hearing will be scheduled. No attorney was listed for Clark.

Michigan coach Brady Hoke said the alleged behavior “is unacceptable and not what we want here associated with our program.”

Hoke said the dismissal of the 6-foot-2, 270-pound senior was a “tragic situation.” He expanded on that sentiment with reporters, saying “domestic abuse is tragic. It’s tragic in our society and we all need to do something about it.”

Hoke said recent high-profile domestic abuse cases in the NFL did not influence his decision to dismiss Clark. Rather, he said, after reviewing reports “there was no (other) decision to be made.”