New Badgers head coach Bret Bielema announced Thursday that UW-Madison junior and former running back Booker Stanley has been dismissed from the UW football team.
Stanley had been suspended from the team for charges surrounding a Dec. 21, 2005 alleged domestic dispute. According to police, Stanley was involved in a disturbance in which a woman was strangled and battered at his residence.
He is currently charged with second-degree sexual assault, battery, second-degree recklessly endangering safety and bail jumping.
Stanley, represented by Madison-area lawyer Dennis Burke, is scheduled to attend his preliminary hearing for the Dec. 21 charges on Feb. 21, 2006.
Stanley was redshirted in 2002 and has played three consecutive seasons for the Badgers.
He had 317 carries for 1,213 yards and 10 touchdowns in the three years he played. He also had 28 catches for 225 yards and one touchdown.
The UW-Madison Athletic Department declined to comment on specifics surrounding the situation.
'Bret's official day as head coach was yesterday, and he announced Booker's removal from the team this morning,' said Justin Doherty, head of Athletic Communications. 'Booker was under suspension. Beyond that, I just don't know if there is anything else I can tell you.'
Brian Lee, also of UW Athletic Communications, said Stanley played in the game at University of Hawaii over Thanksgiving Break but was suspended from playing in the Capital One Bowl Jan. 2.
'We sent the release out with the information that was in it because that's how we wanted to have it announced from our standpoint, and that's pretty much all I can tell you,' Doherty said.
