The Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team suffered a hit on Thursday when quarterback Tommy Rees and linebacker Carlo Calabrese were both arrested by St. Joseph County Police after fleeing officers dispatched to control a noisy house party in South Bend. Rees -- who is in a four-way race for the starting quarterback job -- attempted to flee with Calabrese when officers arrived and had to be pepper-spayed prior to being taken into custody because he actively resisted arrest. He was charged with public intoxication, resisting law enforcement, minor consumption and battery to law enforcement (a felony).
The university issued a statement that deferred to the process of the criminal justice system and said that "internal discipline is handled privately." Even so, William Lee and Brian Hamilton of the Chicago Tribune have started to explore what could be in store for Rees with regards to his status at the university. The duo notes that the university's student disciplinary process does not have to wait until the legal process is finished, so Notre Dame officials and head coach Brian Kelly can determine their disciplinary response at any time. The decision could be left to Kelly, who handled the process for wide receiver Michael Floyd's arrest for operating a vehicle under the influence in March 2011, when Kelly handed out an indefinite suspension but Floyd missed no games and still participated in summer workouts.
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