TCU safety Jacob Fields has been charged with aggravated assault that caused bodily harm, a second degree felony, after an Aug. 13 altercation in the Walsh Athletic Complex left wide receiver Dozie Ezukanma with a brain bleed and concussion.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Ezukanma told TCU Police that Fields hit him in the forehead with a closed fist while he was sitting in the complex, then kicked him in the head after he fell to the floor. Fields could face two to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Ezukanma said he only remembers sitting in the locker room on his phone before waking up later in the training room, asking what happened. He was hospitalized for three days.
The affidavit says sophomore wide receiver Terry Shelton told Ezukanma, “J. Fields snuck you bro,” and later told police he saw Fields strike Ezukanma and watched his head hit the floor. Shelton said he thought Ezukanma was knocked out before he landed, then saw Fields pull his leg back and kick him.
Shelton pushed Fields and told him, “you can’t be doing that; we are teammates.” Sophomore wide receiver Jacobe Hayes then came over and lifted Ezukanma’s leg to check on him, according to the affidavit.
Ezukanma complained of a terrible headache, head pain, a skin abrasion on his face from hitting the floor and shoulder pain. He told police he believed the confrontation came out of practice, saying he had been performing better than Fields. He also said the two had been “going hard” at each other since the start of camp.
TCU Assistant Athletic Trainer Curtis Tally Jr. said he heard Shelton calling for him from the training room. When he got there, Shelton was walking with Ezukanma, who had his face covered and was crying in pain. Tally began evaluating him after Shelton said, “Dozie wasn’t paying attention; he just hit him,” according to the affidavit.
Tally said Ezukanma kept saying his head hurt. Shelton told him he believed Ezukanma had a concussion, and when Tally asked where he was hit, Shelton said Fields hit him in the back of the head and then kicked him.
Ezukanma was taken to see a doctor, who said he needed a CT scan to rule out a brain bleed. The doctor initially wanted him to go to Midtown Medical Imaging, but after Ezukanma said his ears were ringing, he was sent to the ER immediately. Tally drove him to Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital around 3:40 p.m.
The doctor later read the scan results and said Ezukanma had suffered a brain bleed. He was moved to the ICU and had a second CT scan around 7:30 p.m., which showed the hematoma had grown. He was then given blood pressure and pain control medication.
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