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| Thursday, September 7 Chambers might not play until mid-October Associated Press | |||
| MADISON, Wis. -- Wisconsin wide receiver Chris Chambers won't be allowed to serve his three-game suspension while injured after all.
NCAA spokesman Wally Renfro said Thursday the organization was
incorrect when it announced last week a player can serve a
suspension while too injured to play.
But the NCAA does not determine if a player is physically unable
to play, leaving that decision up to the university.
Chambers is one of 26 Wisconsin football players the NCAA
suspended last weeks for one to three games for receiving
unadvertised discounts at a shore store.
The NCAA gave the university a four-week window for players to
serve the suspensions, beginning with Wisconsin's season opener
against Western Michigan last week and ending with its game against
Northwestern on Sept. 23.
The fifth-ranked Badgers play Oregon on Saturday.
Renfro said Wisconsin compliance officer Tim Bald has been told
Chambers won't be able to serve the suspension while injured.
Chambers was expected to be out until at least the end of
September because of a stress fracture in his right foot.
Coaches listed him as one of the players suspended for the Western Michigan game, believing he might be able to serve out his discipline while injured.
Instead, Chambers will likely have to sit out until at least
mid-October.
He led the team last year in receptions (41), receiving yards
(578) and receiving touchdowns (4).
The university also has to figure out how to mete out the
punishments over the next three games after the NCAA gave the
school a four-week window to finish the suspensions.
Eleven players were ordered to sit out three games, while 15
received one-game suspensions they will have to serve over a
stretch of the Badgers' schedule that includes the game against Oregon as well as contests with Cincinnati on Sept. 16 and Northwestern on Sept. 23.
"Once things like that happen, a team has to come together.
That's all we have to do. Come together and play with what we've
got," said starting running back Michael Bennett, who received a
one-game suspension and was "shocked about the whole situation."
Starting linebacker Bryson Thompson and two backups fulfilled
their suspensions by sitting out last Thursday night's 19-7 victory over
Western Michigan.
| ALSO SEE
Shoe scandal: Badgers announce mass suspensionsWisconsin sputters to 19-7 win over Western Michigan | ||
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ESPN's Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit take a look at the Wisconsin suspensions.