Rutgers basketball player faces 7 criminal charges

NEW BRUNSWICK — A member of the Rutgers men's basketball team has been suspended after police charged him with seven criminal charges including making terroristic, according to an NJ.com report.

A spokesman for the Rutgers athletics department confirmed the suspension of junior Issa Thiam in an email to New Jersey 101.5 on Saturday morning but disclosed no other details.

According to a complaint filed in Piscataway Municipal Court obtained by NJ.com, the charges against Thiam also include simple assault, criminal mischief, false imprisonment, tampering with physical evidence, possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose and theft by unlawful taking. The charges were the result of an incident early Friday morning, according to the news site.

A spokeswoman for the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office said they are investigating the incident.

The team ends its regular season on Sunday at Indiana before heading to the Big Ten Tournament.

Thiam is just the latest in a long list of Rutgers athletes who have brushed up against the law.

Earlier in the season, senior forward Caitlin Jenkins was suspended from the women's basketball team after she was charged with simple assault and criminal mischief following an incident in New Brunswick.  She was later dismissed from the team.

Thiam, a guard and forward for the Scarlet Knights, is from Dakar, Senegal, and played high school basketball in Florida, according to his team biography.  He speaks eight languages, including English, French, Spanish, Arabic and Wolof.

A message seeking comment from Piscataway police and the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office was not immediately returned.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ

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