The former TCU player at the center of a sports-media controversy was charged early Sunday morning with aggravated assault stemming from a purported locker room incident earlier in the month.

Jacob Fields, a former safety for the Horned Frogs, allegedly struck TCU wide receiver Dozie Ezukanma during an altercation in the team’s locker room Aug. 13. Details of the alleged incident were subsequently shared by Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporter Steven Johnson, who reported rising tensions between Fields and his teammates beforehand. Johnson’s press credentials were then initially rescinded, as TCU officials claim Johnson provided inaccurate information that “endangered a student-athlete and resulted in threats to him and his family.” 

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“These actions led to the decision to withhold the media credential until additional conversation can be held between athletics and the sports reporting team,” TCU said in a statement last week. “We remain dedicated to restoring our student to health as well as focusing on the game that’s ahead.”

Fields was dismissed from TCU’s football program Aug. 18, five days after the alleged locker room incident. Ezukanma referenced the alleged altercation in a now-deleted Instagram post on Aug. 21, in which he rhetorically asked, “How you gon’ sucker punch me, bro?”