University of Miami football star Ray-Ray Armstrong will not play Saturday because school officials said a dinner he had with a sports PR pro violated team policy and possibly NCAA rules.
Armstrong revealed the dinner on his Twitter feed, posting Sunday night, “Just left Prime 112 wit @arinicolelife never seen a chicken this big.” The @arinicolelife Twitter handle belongs to Ari Washington, who heads year-old Miami-based Double Coverage PR, which handles professional athletes like Carolina Panthers cornerback Darius Butler and Major League Soccer rookie of the year CJ Sapong. Washington also mentioned the dinner meeting on Twitter, according to reports.
“It's a violation of team policy -- what we term conduct detrimental,” Hurricanes coach Al Golden told the Miami Herald.
The Associated Press said Miami and NCAA officials are investigating whether Armstrong accepted an extra benefit by meeting with Washington, which could make him ineligible to play. Two games remain in the season.
Armstrong started the season with a four-game suspension after violating NCAA rules for taking gifts from a booster.
The episode is the latest PR black eye for the Miami Hurricanes football program, which saw 12 players disciplined for involvement with a Ponzi schemer at the start of the season.