Another ex-Baylor player arrested in connection to 2013 incident

Another former Baylor player has been arrested in connection with an alleged sexual assault.

A day after ex-Bears tight end Tre’Von Armstead was taken into custody on recently-filed charges stemming from an alleged April 2013 incident, Shamycheal “Myke” Chatman was taken into custody Thursday in connection with the same incident.

Armstead is facing three second-degree felony sexual assault charges. Per KWTX, Chatman is also facing three sexual assault charges. The Dallas Morning News is reporting that Chatman was taken into custody by “Houston-area U.S. Marshals,” but it is unclear where he is being held.

 

From KWTX:

A Waco grand jury indicted Armstead on the three counts last week, but his indictment was sealed until his arrest.

Chatman was indicted by the same grand jury.

The two were previously named in a police report after the alleged incident was reported to Waco police, but charges were not filed until this week. Per the Morning News, Waco-area authorities filed the charges based on “newly discovered evidence and continued investigation.” The alleged incident was first brought to light in an April 2016 ESPN Outside the Lines report stemming from the bevy of sexual assault allegations against Baylor football players and the scandal surrounding the football program that cost head coach Art Briles his job.

Armstead and Chatman’s accuser filed a lawsuit against Baylor in January. The lawsuit alleges the woman “is aware of at least 52 acts or rape by not less than 31 different football players” between 2011 and 2014. In the suit, the woman, who was a hostess for the Baylor football program (known as the “Baylor Bruins”), said she was assaulted by the two players after a party.

In the suit, she alleges the Waco Police “never even attempted to interview” Chatman or Armstead, but did notify campus authorities. Per the Outside The Lines report, the woman had bruises, a bite mark and scratches but initially did not want to press charges. The players were not disciplined at the time. Armstead, who played in 27 games for the Bears, was eventually dismissed for “violating team rules” in September 2015. Chatman transferred to Sam Houston State, where he played linebacker. The 2016 season was his senior year.

Additionally, the lawsuit says Chatman had previously been accused of rape by a female athletic trainer. Baylor, the suit says, reached a non-disclosure agreement with the trainer and did not punish Chatman.

Chatman’s arrest is the latest in the fallout of Baylor’s investigation into its handlings of sexual assault allegations. The investigation, conducted by Philadelphia law firm Pepper Hamilton, found “specific failings within both the football program and athletics department leadership” and said there were “significant concerns about the tone and culture within Baylor’s football program as it relates to accountability for all forms of student-athlete misconduct.” It led to the firing of Briles. President Ken Starr was also fired while athletic director Ian McCaw turned in his resignation.