Former Nebraska football head coach Mickey Joseph has been placed on administrative leave by the university following the news that he was arrested on Wednesday afternoon by Lincoln police. The arrest comes after charges against Joseph were filed for alleged strangulation, strangulation, and 3rd Degree Domestic Assault.
Rumors began circulating late Wednesday evening that a high-profile member of the Nebraska football team had been arrested. Shortly thereafter, the Lincoln Police Department issued a formal statement confirming that Mickey Joseph had been detained and put in jail.
The official LPD Twitter account made it clear that normally, it wouldn’t issue such a confirmation. However the gravity of the the situation and the person involved led the department to feel a release needed to be made in order to provide transparency.
"“While LPD does not normally provide a news release for a domestic-related arrest, due to the high-profile nature of the person involved and, in an effort, to provide transparency on an arrest involving a public figure, notification of the arrest is being made.”"
On Wed, Nov 30 @ 1:54pm LPD was dispatched to a home near S 34th & Tree Line Drive on a domestic disturbance. Upon concluding the investigation, Robert ‘Mickey’ Joseph, age 54 of Lincoln, was arrested for Strangulation and 3rd Degree Domestic Assault. He was lodged in jail. pic.twitter.com/aiyzvVi8it
— Lincoln Police (@Lincoln_Police) November 30, 2022
The announcement stunned Nebraska football nation, who had spent most of the week wondering whether or not Joseph would be retained by head coach Matt Rhule. Earlier on Wednesday morning, it was even thought that the hiring of quarterbacks coach Jake Peetz was contingent on the former interim head coach staying on as wide receivers coach.
Not long after reports of the arrest were made official, athletic director Trev Alberts issued a statement announcing the administrative leave.
#Huskers pic.twitter.com/pEXH1l3KRD
— Oliver VanDervoort (@itmeolliev) December 1, 2022
“I was made aware of the charges against Coach Joseph and given the nature of the allegations and based on University policy, he has been placed on administrative leave. We will have no additional comment at this time.”
I won’t be speculating on what happened or why now or ever but I do hope that all involved in this situation are getting whatever help may be needed.