The Jonesboro Sun is behind a pay wall, but I can relay that the newspaper this morning has an extensive story on star running back Michael Dyer's abrupt dismissal from the Arkansas State football team yesterday after less than two weeks officially in the fold following his transfer from Auburn, where he'd had unspecified problems..
The Sun says the dismissal appears to be related to a traffic stop in March in White County. Dyer was cited for speeding 96 in a 70 mph zone and fined $17 (this apparently was an error; the fine apparently was $175, according to subsequent reports) and given five days of community service. But a Sun review of records on the stop indicates that the state trooper who made the stop found another person in the car with a handgun and a substance believed to be marijuana. No charges were filed over these items, apparently.
The Sun obtained the video of the stop, which includes a conversation between Little Rock Christian graduate Dyer and Trooper Royce Denney, who either knew or came to know Dyer was a football player. The videotape shows Denney asking Dyer if the gun is registered.
"Carrying a pistol around? Uncool ... You've got a career ahead of you but you're being a total dumbass right now," the newspaper quotes from the video.
Denney says he could report the incident to Coach Gus Malzahn, but adds: "What's the best way to make you think? You're a grown man and I'm not trying to treat you like a kid." He also reportedly tells Dyer he doesn't want to tell Malzahn about the incident "because of the NCAA crap."
