Florida State kicker Conor McAneney was punched twice by a police officer after allegedly trying to drag the cop to the floor, it has emerged.
The Seminoles’ new signing has been suspended after he was arrested on felony assault and battery charges in South Florida.
McAneney is accused of battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest by obstructing with violence and trespassing. The first two charges have been listed in court records as third-degree felonies.
A mugshot showed the Northern Irish-born football star with a bloodied and swollen lip, as well as scratches and apparent damage to his jaw. Now TMZ reports that McAneney was punched twice in the face after a dispute escalated.
It is reported that the sophomore, who recently joined FSU from Quincy, was resisting after being kicked out of a bar when police stepped in.
Despite being told to leave, McAneney allegedly refused and grabbed on to a barrier outside the bar.
Conor McAneney, a kicker at Florida State, shown after his arrest on a pair of assault charges
Police claim they managed to get the kicker away from the bar and then let him go, only for McAneney to allegedly grab an officer’s ‘arm/shirt.’
‘[He] attempted to pull me down, placing me off balance, nearly falling through the barrier into the roadway where traffic was flowing,’ an officer reported, per TMZ.
‘[I] punched the defendant two times in the face and brought him to the ground where he continued to actively resist our attempts to place him into custody.’
McAneney – said to be in town for spring break – was eventually detained and taken to jail.
In a statement to the Daily Mail, Florida State confirmed that McAneney has been ‘suspended indefinitely from all team activities.’
McAneney is a transfer from Quincy University – a Division II school in Illinois. Listed on the FSU website as a native of Plumbridge, Northern Ireland, McAneney previously competed in Gaelic football.
Florida State is currently on spring break and is not actively practicing after previously beginning camp last week.
