The UVA Football program has reinstated backup tailback/kick returner Solomon Beebe, who was suspended from the team in August after his arrest on three pretty disturbing animal-cruelty charges.
The move to reinstate Beebe comes after two of the three charges against Beebe were dropped on Thursday, and a third was set for deferred disposition in 2027.
Beebe will be eligible to get on the field for the ‘Hoos starting with their Week 6 game at home against Syracuse on Saturday, Oct. 10.
This is just how big-time college football works, folks.
“Following today’s legal proceedings in the Albemarle General District Court, Solomon Beebe will be reinstated to full participation with the Virginia Football program after Saturday’s game versus Florida State,” the University said in a statement released on Thursday.
“Solomon was suspended for the first four games of the season while the legal process was ongoing, and he will miss a total of five games. Virginia Athletics holds the utmost respect for the legal process and takes very seriously the responsibility to represent the University at the highest standards. We look forward to supporting Solomon’s continued growth.”
Beebe landed in legal trouble on Aug. 13, a day after a housekeeper at his apartment complex told authorities that she saw the player “punch his dog with a closed fist multiple times,” one of three alleged instances involving abuse of the dog in a three-day period.
ICYMI
Per reporting on his eventual Aug. 17 arrest in the Daily Progress, an animal-control officer from the Albemarle County Police Department said he viewed security camera footage from the night of Aug. 10 showing Beebe “striking his dog no less than 7 times and carrying it off the ground by the neck” while in a dog park.
“At the time of the incident, the dog did not appear to be attacking him and was on leash under his control,” the report, from an ACPD officer named Justin Gibson, offered up.
“Immediately following the incident, the dog,” named Jeb, “reacted to Solomon Beebe with clear signs of fear, taking a submissive and defensive posture as if expecting to be struck again,” Gibson wrote in his report.
We really need this guy on the field for us as part of the tailback rotation and returning kicks?
UVA Athletics also, helpfully, distributed a statement attributed to Beebe about the issue with the dog, the legal process, and getting back on the field.
“I’m grateful to be a student at the University of Virginia, and it is not something I will ever take for granted,” Beebe said in the statement. “I acknowledge the mistakes I’ve made and take responsibility for my actions. My heart is also broken for the impact this had on Jeb. I apologize to my teammates, my coaches, the University and members of the Charlottesville community for not living up to the standard of being a UVA student-athlete. I am committed to being the best version of myself and will show that every chance I get.”
Beebe still has an Oct. 5, 2027, hearing in Albemarle County General District Court on the one charge that was not nolle prossed today, per records from the Virginia online court database.
Between now and then, according to reporting from the Progress, Beebe is being required to take an anger management class, undergo court-ordered mental health treatment and complete 100 hours of community service.
Beebe was also ordered to give over custody of Jeb to his father, not have any contact with Jeb for a year, and he is prohibited from owning a dog for five years.
It gets harder and harder each day to want to continue to devote time, energy and money to the goings-on in the world of spectator sports.
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Chris Graham
