ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Georgia football transfer Rodarius “Rara” Thomas was arrested for blocking the door to a campus dorm room and causing injuries to a 17-year-old girl during an argument, a police report says.
The incident resulted in a felony charge of false imprisonment against the 20-year-old Thomas, who recently transferred to Georgia from Mississippi State.
He was one of State’s top receivers and had been projected to take a prominent role in Georgia’s offense when the team goes for its third straight national title.
Thomas also was charged with misdemeanor battery/family violence for allegedly bruising the girl’s bicep and causing abrasions to her shins, according to the police report obtained Tuesday by the Athens Banner-Herald.
The girl told campus officers she and Thomas lived together in Mississippi and in his native Alabama, and that they were planning to reside together in an Athens apartment.
Thomas was released on $1,850 bond Monday, about eight hours after being taken into custody. He denied wrongdoing in a post to his personal Facebook page.
“Y’all know I’m not that type of person,” Thomas wrote. “I know better than that my momma taught me well! I’ll never EVER put my hands on a female!!’
According to the police report, Thomas and the girl were arguing over an unidentified male she was following on social media. She said she wanted to leave, but Thomas blocked the door and told her she couldn’t. He also prevented her from making a call to her mother, the report said.
That’s when the argument became physical, she told police. Thomas grabbed her right arm, bruising her biceps, before she started scratching, kicking and hitting Thomas to get him off her.
She said Thomas pushed her and she fell “face first into the bed leaving bruises and abrasions on her shins.” When she tried to get up, he pushed her again, causing her to fall back first on the bed, causing an abrasion on the side of her left leg.
Thomas gave a different version to police, saying the girl began “choking” and hitting him and that she would not let him leave. He told police he “placed her on the bed softly while she was hitting him,” and advised her to settle down before he went to talk to a friend on the phone.
Thomas remains a member of the Georgia football program, but could face discipline that includes a suspension.
“While we are limited in what we can say about the incident, the report is disappointing and not reflective of the high standards we have for our student-athletes on and off the field,” the athletic department said in a statement released Monday.
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