Jaborian McKenzie was one of the four Vanderbilt players kicked off the team in June due to his alleged involvement in the rape of a teammate's girlfriend.
Thursday, it was revealed that despite his impending legal proceedings, McKenzie was still playing Division I football, for Alcorn State of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
Braves' head coach Jay Hopson was quoted by the Associated Press as saying "If I ever find anything or if I can get any proof that he is guilty, he will be suspended from our football team...From everything I’ve gotten, from every resource, this kid is 100 percent innocent."
McKenzie had already seen the field this season in his short time with Alcorn State, returning kicks against Mississippi State last weekend.
Those will now be the last times he sees the field for the Braves, as the Associated Press reports he was kicked off the team (h/t USA Today)less than a day after the revelation of his continued presence in college football, despite the rape charges.
So what changed in less than 24 hours that resulted from him going from being in good standing with his coach to being kicked off the team?
Nothing, or at least nothing that McKenzie did. The furor around McKenzie being allowed to continue playing college football while awaiting trial for rape caught up to the school, forcing them to take necessary action to avoid a negative spotlight on the school.
McKenzie is from southwest Mississippi, just like Alcorn State, but geographical proximity was not nearly a good enough reason to stay with a player facing some very serious charges, charges that could bring major fallout with them, which would negatively affect the school.
Alcorn State will now move on, hoping to put an incident in which they exhibited questionable judgment behind them.
