Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield will have to perform 35 hours of community service and receive alcohol education from Oklahoma University prior to the start of the fall semester, the school announced Thursday.
These measures are separate from whatever punishment might be handed out by the Fayetteville District Court.
In April, Mayfield entered a “not guilty” plea on charges of public intoxication, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest, stemming from a February incident in Fayetteville.
“Baker has expressed regret for his actions and backed up his apology by being a model leader in our program,” newly promoted OU coach Lincoln Riley said in a statement. “He has learned from his mistake and will continue to grow from it. The coaching staff and team has every confidence in him going forward.”
The Sooners travel to Columbus on Sept. 9 for the second leg of a home-and-home with Ohio State.
If a suspension from the team were going to be part of Mayfield’s punishment, missing that game — the Sooners’ second of the season — could have been a possibility.
But suspension from any part of Oklahoma’s football season was never expected to be part of Mayfield’s punishment, and this news confirms that will be the case. It seems unlikely that his status would be changed by the legal proceedings in Arkansas.
