2 Players Off Team After Fatal Brawl

Two Cal State Fullerton football players have been suspended from the team pending police investigation of a brawl that began at a Fullerton restaurant and ended with the death of an El Toro Marine, head football coach Gene Murphy said Sunday.

Murphy and other university officials declined to identify the two players, saying only that they would remain suspended until Fullerton police conclude their investigation.

“Neither athlete has been charged with anything, and we’re awaiting further information,” said university athletic director Ed Carroll.

The football team begins spring drills today.

Staff Sgt. Richard William Bottjer, 30, a flight information specialist at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, was declared brain-dead following the fight outside Baxter’s Restaurant on East Chapman Avenue early Thursday morning.

He had gone to the restaurant, which is across the street from the university, with some other Marines to celebrate the 30th birthday of a friend.

During a “hot legs” contest, a fight broke out between some of the Marines and some Fullerton athletes, police said. The fight continued outside, and Bottjer was knocked to the ground. No weapons were used in the fight, police said, and the county coroner’s office said he died of a head injury.

Bottjer’s heart was implanted in a 26-year-old musician at UCI Medical Center Friday in the first heart transplant operation in Orange County. The patient’s name has not been released, in accordance with the wishes of doctors and family.

UCI Medical Center spokeswoman Elaine Beno said Sunday that the musician is in critical but stable condition. He was disconnected from an external pacemaker Sunday morning, and his heart is beating on its own.