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K'Vaughn Pope Dismissed From Ohio State Football Team

K'Vaughn Pope football headshot on July 20, 2021. [Ohio State University]
K'Vaughn Pope football headshot from The Ohio State University

Ohio State University linebacker K'Vaughn Pope has been dismissed from the football team after he appeared to quit the team during Saturday's game against Akron.

Pope threw his gloves into the stands and took off his jersey as he stormed to the locker room after reportedly being told to stay off the field as he tried to enter the game in the second quarter. He sent a vulgar tweet criticizing OSU before deleting it.

On Sunday, head coach Ryan Day said Pope was no longer a member of the team.

“K’Vaughan will continue to have the use of programs that benefit our student-athletes, such as our Student-Athlete Support Services Office, and we will support him with his progress toward graduation,” Day said in an emailed statement.

“(Pope) will remain on scholarship through the duration of this semester,” the statement said.

On Sunday, Pope tweeted out an apology.

"Last night I let my emotions get the best of me. For that I want to apologize to my teammates, coaches and Buckeye Nation," he wrote. "I made a mistake and know that I need to be better and do better. I'm going to take this time to reflect and work on my mental well-being."

The senior from Dinwiddie, Virginia played in 33 games at Ohio State. He had three tackles this season.

Pope is the second linebacker to leave the program in the past week, after Dallas Gant entered the transfer portal following a lack of playing time.

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