UNC completes investigation of Boyer incident

The office of student affairs at UNC-Chapel Hill has completed an investigation into an off-campus altercation that led to the suspensions of four football players, the university announced Thursday.

The Student Attorney General will review the results and independently determine whether to file disciplinary charges, according to UNC.

UNC didn’t detail the conclusions of the investigation, which began after Jackson Boyer, a nonscholarship football player, allegedly suffered a concussion during an altercation with teammates. Yahoo! Sports first reported the incident in late August and described it as hazing.

The university has not described it that way – or any other way – and officials have declined to discuss details of the incident. It happened Aug. 4 at the Aloft hotel, where the team stayed during preseason camp.

UNC’s Dean of Students and the Office of Student Conduct on Wednesday turned over results of the student affairs investigation to the Student Attorney General. That is the next step, according to UNC, in what it described as “the student-led honor system.”

It’s unclear what charges the suspects in the incident might face. No criminal charges were filed in relation to the altercation, and the police were not called to take a report, though the campus police received a report on Aug. 8 of what it described as an allegation of aggravated assault.

UNC police then notified the Chapel Hill Police Department, which has jurisdiction at the Aloft. Police have not investigated the case, though, and neither Boyer nor his parents have spoken with police.

The incident led to the suspensions of starting cornerbacks Brian Walker and Des Lawrence and backups Donnie Miles and M.J. Stewart. They were suspended from UNC’s first game, against Liberty, but returned for the San Diego State game Saturday.

Walker intercepted two passes and returned one 100 yards for a touchdown. None of the players has been made available to reporters in recent weeks, and Boyer and members of his family have declined to speak publicly about what happened.

The university said it would offer no additional comment now, and it’s unclear whether it eventually will offer an account of what happened at the hotel.

This story was originally published September 11, 2014 at 5:01 PM with the headline "UNC completes investigation of Boyer incident."