Football player suspended from University after alleged robbery

In light of football player Greg Wade's arrest and subsequent charge of armed robbery, the Office of Student Affairs has placed Wade on interim suspension while an investigation is conducted.

Wade was charged last Thursday night in Kinston County, N.C., with robbing a wheelchair-bound man and his caregiver at gunpoint. The Trinity freshman was immediately placed in a Lenoir County prison with bond posted at $25,000.

The athletic department suspended Wade, an outside linebacker who redshirted in the fall, from the football team and the administration followed suit with an interim suspension from the University. The suspension prohibits Wade from entering campus until the University's case is resolved.

According to Section 2.060 of the Undergraduate Judicial Code, "Interim suspension is an extraordinary remedy which will be invoked only in extreme cases where the interest of the University and members of its community require immediate action."

Associate Dean for Judicial Affairs Kacie Wallace confirmed the reasoning behind the decision.

"The nature of the alleged crime certainly guided our decision to invoke an interim suspension," said Wallace, who handles such disciplinary matters. "I think we needed some time to gather our own facts and speak to [Wade] as well."

Wade was arrested Jan. 7 at about 7 p.m., just 10 minutes after the crime occurred at the Hampton Inn in Kinston. He allegedly held a silver handgun to the head of Ronnie Isler, 28, a former high school football player who was paralyzed during a game in the late 1980s. Isler was accompanied at the time by his caregiver.

Wade was a highly recruited linebacker from Kinston High School. New head football coach Carl Franks deferred comment on the matter to athletic director Joe Alleva.