Missouri football players defend Maty Mauk amid video controversy

Missouri Quarterback Maty Mauk Faces Indefinite Suspension

COLUMBIA A day after Missouri redshirt junior quarterback Maty Mauk was suspended indefinitely by the Missouri athletics department, members of the Missouri football team and Mauks father have come to his defense.

It started with redshirt junior linebacker Michael Scherer, who gave his support via Twitter around 10 a.m. Tuesday.

"Maty has been doing everything he can to be a better person," Scherer said. "No one is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes."

Redshirt freshman wide receiver Kenyon Dilosa and redshirt junior defensive lineman Harold Brantley were among a number of other players who tweeted. The other players were in agreement that the video, which appears to show Mauk snorting a white substance, is old and that Mauk has been working to improve himself.

This is the third time in the past six months the Ohio native has been suspended fromthe team.

Mauks father, Mike Mauk, said Tuesday that he did not know how old the video was, but said his son has been "absolutely" clean since he was reinstated from his second suspension in December.

"I don"t really think there"s anything he"s going to say about it until we take care of things that we need to inside," Mike Mauk said.

Former Missouri offensive lineman Connor McGovern told SECCountry.com, a blog that works in conjunction with the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, that Mauks suspension is due to "bad luck." McGovern played with Mauk at Missouri for three seasons. He and former Missouri center Evan Boehm are in Mobile, Alabama, for the Senior Bowl.

"Hes got some things to fix that are bigger than football," McGovern said. "He doesnt make the best decisions all the time, but nobody does. He just happens to be a quarterback that makes some poor decisions and seems to get caught whenever he makes a bad decision. Theres a lot of people here, Im sure, that have made poor decisions. They just didnt get caught doing it."

The Missouri athletics department has yet to address Mauks status with the team since announcing the suspension Monday via a joint statement from Athletics Director Mack Rhoades and football coach Barry Odom. Mauk is listed as a student in the Missouri student directory, but the MU Registrars Office said Tuesday it cannot divulge information on whether or not a student is still enrolled at MU.

Source: http://www.columbiamissourian.com/sports/mizzou_football/missouri-football-players-defend-maty-mauk-amid-video-controversy/article_91868fc4-c488-11e5-9f3e-b73098ade08d.html

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Missouri suspends QB Maty Mauk as it investigates alleged drug video

Missouri Quarterback Maty Mauk Faces Indefinite Suspension

UPDATE 11:29 A.M.

One of Maty Mauks teammates on the Missouri football team told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the video of Mauk appearing to snort a white powder is two years old and that the Tigers quarterback has since addressed his drug problem.

The teammate asked not to be identified by the Post-Dispatch, telling the paper that Mauk has been really turning things around since the end of the season and has been clean for a while.

The Post-Dispatch also reports, via multiple sources, that Missouri suspended Mauk for the first time last September because he failed a drug test.

The team suspected hed been using drugs and administered the test, leading to his suspension announced Sept. 29, Dave Matter writes.

ORIGINAL POST

Missouri has suspended quarterback Maty Mauk for the third time in four months after a video of someone who closely resembles Mauk snorting a white powder was released online.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch was first to report the news.

We are currently gathering information regarding the video in question. This is an issue we take very seriously and one that will not be tolerated within our program. We will take the appropriate actions once we have all the facts. In the interim, Maty Mauk has been indefinitely suspended for the Mizzou football program, Missouri Athletic Director Mack Rhoades and Coach Barry Odom said in a statement that was released less than two hours after the video was posted.

Mauk, a fourth-year junior in 2015, played just four games last season after being named to the SEC all-freshman team in 2013 and starting all 14 games in 2014. He was suspended twice, once for violating team rules and then again after he was briefly reinstated. According to the Post-Dispatch, the second suspension was the result of a drunken dispute Mauk had outside a bar in Columbia, Mo.

Odom, the Tigers defensive coordinator last season who was promoted to head coach after Gary Pinkels retirement, reinstated Mauk in December and said he was expected to compete for the teams starting quarterback spot in spring practice.

In 2013, Mauk was arrested on four misdemeanor traffic offenses after he struck two parked vehicles while riding his motor scooter. Mauk and two female passengers fled the scene, later refusing to pull over and running a stop sign.

After spending the first 17 years of his Post career writing and editing, Matt and the printed paper had an amicable divorce in 2014. He"s now blogging and editing for the Early Lead and the Post"s other Web-based products.

Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&ct2=us&usg=AFQjCNHg8JmoSjve06W0RupAnxnOEXgA6g&clid=c3a7d30bb8a4878e06b80cf16b898331&cid=52779037477845&ei=iXmoVvinOciL8gGSgoyoAQ&url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2016/01/26/missouri-suspends-qb-maty-mauk-as-it-investigates-alleged-drug-video/

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