After months of investigation, Washington Huskies guard Isaiah Thomas thought the controversy about a previously unnamed player's encounter with a minor were behind the team.
"I kind of thought it was over," said Isaiah Thomas when asked if he ever wondered when the day would come that Overton would get charged. "I mean I don't know how the law works and things like that, but once they said he wasn't charged for [the sexual assault allegation] I thought it was over. But obviously it's not."
However, with the announcement that Washington Huskies guard Venoy Overton would be charged with providing alcohol to a minor, coach Lorenzo Romar has suspended him for the entirety of the Pac-10 Tournament, as written by Seattle Times reporters Percy Allen and Jennifer Sullivan.
Huskies | UW basketball standout Overton charged with furnishing alcohol to minor | Seattle Times Newspaper
The Huskies played the past three months while a player was under investigation.Shortly after Venoy Overton was charged Tuesday with furnishing alcohol to a minor, coach Lorenzo Romar suspended the senior guard from this week's Pac-10 Conference tournament.
Overton, UW's most experienced player and a defensive standout, will travel with the Huskies to Los Angeles, but he'll watch from the sidelines when No. 3 Washington faces sixth-seed Washington State at Staples Center 8:40 p.m. Thursday in the quarterfinals of the single-elimination tournament.
Although Overton was not made available for comment today, Romar did indicate that the senior "could possibly" release a statement at some point.
Romar also said during today's press conference that in addition to the suspension Overton had already been disciplined internally and will be available should they make the NCAA tournament, but for now this decision was about something bigger than basketball and the fact that it was made swiftly is an indication of how seriously Romar took it.
"I don't know if the decision was as tough as- you're more disappointed," said Romar when asked if this is the toughest decision he's had to make about a player. "It's tough, but we all have to learn."
As indicated by the Seattle Times article, by no means were basketball considerations the primary topic of discussion at the press conference but Romar said that his team will now have to come together in order to move forward with the Pac-10 tournament - and a third meeting against Washington State - looming.
"I know guys love their teammate and they know they're going to go to battle without him on the floor," said Romar. "That'll make it tough, but we have to go on."