Football Captain’s Court Date Set

Matthew C. Thomas ’06-’07, the suspended captain of the Harvard football team, will appear in court on July 19 for a pretrial hearing following his June 5 arrest on charges that he assaulted his ex-girlfriend.

Thomas faces charges of assault and battery, breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony, and destruction of property stemming from the incident in Currier House.

A 2-page narrative of the June 5 events, included in a Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) report filed recently with the Middlesex County District Attorney’s office, offered new details on the circumstances surrounding Thomas’ arrest, which The Crimson first reported on June 22.

Thomas, who took the spring semester off, was present at the Senior Soiree on June 5. Both he and the victim attended the event separately, where both were drinking, according to the police report.

After the event, Thomas gained entrance to the victim’s unoccupied room by kicking the door down, and he was helped to the bed by fullback Michael Lucas ’07, who told witnesses that Thomas was “quite drunk and needed to sleep it off,” according to the report.

Even though Thomas and the victim were no longer dating, witnesses told police that the football captain “is always around and does occasionally stay in [the victim’s] room if he’s had too much to drink.”

The report also said that the victim received a phone call warning her not to return to her room because Thomas was present, but she came back to the room and woke Thomas up to confront him about a relationship with another woman.

The pair began to argue, and eventually witnesses entered from an adjoining room to find the victim on her back on the bed and Thomas “strangling her with one hand.”

In cases of alleged domestic abuse, The Crimson’s policy is to refrain from printing victims’ names.

After witnesses yelled for Thomas to stop, he let go and the victim fell to the floor.

As he turned to walk away, according to witnesses mentioned in the police report, “he suddenly lifted her and drove his knee into her chest.”

The witnesses then took the victim to an adjoining room, locked the door and called HUPD. Thomas was again passed out at the desk in the victim’s room when police arrived. Officers found the victim “in an apparent state of panic, begging for an Emergency Medical Technician.”

After police checked on the victim and the paramedics arrived, officers woke Thomas, who police say was initially confused about where he was and why officers were there.

Thomas was then placed under arrest, booked, and arraigned at Cambridge District Court before being released on his own recognizance.

The victim was taken to Mt. Auburn Hospital, where she was examined. The police report states that photos were taken there of “a large welt” on the victim’s back.

Thomas, when contacted earlier this week, said, “I have nothing to say at this time. Perhaps after next week once I have gone back to the Middlesex District Court.”

Harvard coach Tim Murphy suspended Thomas from the team indefinitely on June 8, and has told The Crimson that potential consequences could be as serious as dismissal from the team, although he added, “until I can ascertain the facts I would hesitate to say what the discipline action would be at this point.”

In comments to The Boston Globe published on July 8, Murphy stated, “If the allegations prove to be true, [Thomas] will be dismissed from the team. We are just awaiting due process.”

The criminal charges carry a range of punishments, including fines and potential prison time.

Thomas was a first-team all-Ivy League linebacker last season and led the team in tackles and fumble recoveries. He was named captain of the 2006 Crimson on Nov. 22.

Two other players, Danny P. Lane ’07 and James R. Velissaris ’07, were also suspended this spring after an allegedly alcohol-related confrontation with a shuttle driver in front of Currier House on Apr. 29. Both will miss Harvard’s Sept. 16 opener against Holy Cross.

When first asked about the pair of incidents, Murphy told The Crimson that he was “definitely concerned about drinking and binge drinking,” though he said he thinks that “historically our kids have had a remarkable record of citizenship on campus.”

The football team also saw a number of suspensions during the fall semester. Russ G. Schober ’08 and Desmond J. Bryant ’08 both missed eight games.

Schober was suspended after being arrested and cited for carrying a small amount of marijuana and for being a minor in possession, according to The Globe. Bryant was suspended from the team for an undisclosed offense.

Murphy originally suspended Schober and Bryant for the entire 2005 season, but ultimately allowed them to participate in the team’s final two games, against Pennsylvania and Yale.

Because the College’s Administrative Board does not publicize if and when it punishes students for infractions, it is unclear if the College took any disciplinary action against Lane, Velissaris, Schober, or Bryant.

—Staff writer Brad Hinshelwood can be reached at bhinshel@fas.harvard.edu.