College Football
Two indicted University of Miami football players must sit out practice until the U.S. attorney’s office decides whether to accept their request to enter a pretrial diversion program, athletic director Dave Maggard said.
Wide receiver Lamar Thomas and running back Jason Marucci were indicted Tuesday on charges of fraudulently obtaining federal financial aid.
The two are scheduled to return to court Thursday.
The players could have avoided charges by accepting an offer from the U.S. attorney’s office to enter the pretrial program, but missed the deadline for responding.
Defense lawyers have requested charges be dropped and the players be allowed to enter the program.
The indictments stem from a 15-month federal investigation of a Pell Grant scandal at the university. Sixty-five students were implicated, but only Thomas and Marucci have been charged.
Maggard said it has yet to be determined whether NCAA regulations were violated.
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