Ryan and I were Fraternity brothers of Rooney at Iowa.....see below...


Police, Ferentz probe incident at bar
By MEGAN MANFULL and TOM WITOSKY
Register Staff Writer
09/28/2001

Iowa City, Ia. - A criminal investigation is under way into an alleged
assault that involves at least one member of the Iowa football team.
Tom Widmer, an Iowa City police captain, said Wednesday that the
investigation began early Sunday morning after police responded to a call
from a bar named Etc. The tavern is located in the downtown Iowa City
pedestrian mall.
"It is an active investigation," Widmer said.
Widmer said police received the call about 2:30 a.m. Sunday. He declined to
identify any suspects.
Ryan Rooney, a manager at Etc., said at least one assailant was a member of
the Iowa football team. He would not identify the player or say if more than
one player was involved.
Rooney said one of his bartenders sustained a concussion from the assault
and required medical attention.
"It was more of a jumping than a fight," he said.
Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said Thursday morning he was looking into the
matter. He said he was told of the incident Wednesday evening.
"I'm fuzzy on the details right now," Ferentz said. "A player told a coach
about something that took place, and then they told me. I'm going to look
into what happened and get more details about it.
"I want to find out if anything did happen . . . then I will see if any
action needs to be taken on the team."
Iowa's season already has been marred by one violent assault. Offensive
lineman Sam Aiello attacked quarterback Jon Beutjer in July, although the
incident did not become public until the first week of the season.
Beutjer said he received a concussion, although he did not file a report
with police. He later left Iowa and enrolled at Illinois, saying he felt
betrayed by the school's handling of the incident.
Ferentz said he had not been contacted by police about the incident at Etc.
A report obtained from police says two people were injured at Etc. Rooney
said the second victim, a woman, was "shaken up pretty bad."
Kevin Prestegard, the investigating officer, confirmed Thursday the probe
was continuing, but refused further comment.
"It all depends on the police and how diligently they will pursue this,"
Rooney said. "They have a lengthy amount of time before they have to do
something. If they are season ticket holders, I wouldn't be surprised if
they wait until December."
Police declined to respond to Rooney's comment.


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