OUInsider - Owen Field

OSU RB Sims dismissed over miscommunication with teammate, high school coach says

BY KELLY HINES World Sports Writer
Friday, June 01, 2012

Oklahoma State running back Herschel Sims has been kicked off the football team, and his high school coach said the dismissal was the result of a miscommunication with a teammate over money.

The university announced the news in a release Friday, saying Sims was dismissed for a violation of team rules.

On May 18, OSU linebacker Jeremiah Tshimanga reported to campus police that his ID was stolen and used to access his bank account, according to an incident report.

Tshimanga said the suspect took his permanent-residence ID to Stillwater National Bank and withdrew money twice on April 27, first for $500 and then for $200.

When he noticed money was missing from his account, Tshimanga told police he contacted the bank and through the bank's investigation he was able to identify the suspect.

Tshimanga said he confronted the suspect and asked for the money back, and the suspect confessed but has failed to repay him, according to the report.

“Based on what Herschel told me, there has been some miscommunication between him and his teammate,” said Steve Warren, Sims’ coach at Abilene (Texas) High School. “At the same time, he indicated to me that he made a mistake in the way he handled that situation, the way he went about it with his teammate and things like that.

“Herschel said, ‘I made the mistake of getting the money myself, coach. I should have let him do it and I didn’t. But we had an agreement that I was going to borrow that money from him and pay him back.’

“The kid was aware of it before it ever happened. Obviously (Sims) didn’t pay him back when he said he was going to, and that’s when he went to the coaches or police or both.”

An OSU spokesman said the university had no response to Warren’s comments.

While the suspect’s name was redacted from the incident report, OSU Police Capt. Richard Atkins told The Daily O'Collegian on Wednesday the suspect was a teammate of Tshimanga's. He declined comment when reached by the World.

The suspect’s birth date was listed on the incident report as Sept. 17, 1991, and matches Sims’ on his player profile on OSU’s website.

On Friday, police said the investigation has not been completed. No arrests have been made, and no charges have been filed.

Warren said Sims told him that he had met with an attorney and that Sims and his mother also met with head coach Mike Gundy.

“He had mentioned that he really wasn’t sure why he had been eliminated from the team, simply from the standpoint that there haven’t been any charges filed at this point,” Warren said. “I guess there was enough there to warrant him being removed from the team. Obviously there was or they wouldn’t have done it.

“I know there are a lot of different ways to handle situations, but if he’s done something that warrants him being removed from the team then I’m deeply saddened by that because he’s a great kid and he’s always been a great kid for us.”

A five-star recruit, Sims was the third-team back behind Joseph Randle and Jeremy Smith, who are now juniors. That role is likely to go to sophomore Desmond Roland.

As a freshman last season, Sims played in the final nine games and rushed for 242 yards and two touchdowns. His 81-yard run against Baylor was OSU’s longest play of the season and the longest in the Big 12 last year.

When Sims did not play in the season opener, he complained on Twitter. His punishment was spending a week of practice on the StairMaster.

"He started to turn the corner a little bit and he has earned the right to get back onto the field and play,” Gundy said after Sims saw his first action in a win against Kansas. “Prior to that, he wasn't ready to play, mentally or physically. He's got a long ways to go, but he's been better the last couple of weeks."

Warren said Sims hadn’t mentioned to him what his plans were, in terms of transferring to another school.