Minnesota head coach Richard Pitino suspended three players for the remainder of the season after their sex tape was released on social media.
Pitino had initally suspended Nate Mason, Dupree McBrayer and Kevin Dorsey for Sunday night’s game at Illinois with the expectation that they would return Wednesday against Wisconsin. Mason, a 6-foot-1 sophomore guard, is the team’s leading scorer at 13.8 points per game.
“After careful and continued consideration, I am suspending Kevin Dorsey, Nate Mason and Dupree McBrayer for the duration of the season,” Pitino said in a statement released by the school Tuesday. “I believe this is the best thing for the basketball program as we strive to build a strong and respectful culture each and every day.”
In February, Carlos Morris, a senior guard averaging 9.8 points per game, was dismissed from the program because of “conduct detrimental to the team.”
Minnesota (8-20, 2-14 Big Ten) visits Rutgers (6-23, 0-16) in the Big Ten regular-season finale for both teams on Saturday. Rutgers, which hosts No. 2 Michigan State on Wednesday and hasn’t won a Big Ten game since January 2015, could be staring at an 0-18 league season by Saturday.
Multiple reports indicated that Dorsey posted sex videos involving the trio and women on social media. The videos and his Twitter account were then deleted.
“They were all together [during the incident],” Nate Mason Sr. told ESPN.com. “[Mason] didn’t know his friend would put it on social media.”
“I think kids need to learn when they make mistakes,” he added.
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