Good news for Diddy (who could really use some right about now). Neither the coaching staff or UCLA Bruins football players are really concerned about the alleged attempt assault that blew up the Internet yesterday, June 23.
Reports TMZ:
Several key UCLA football players are calling for Justin Combs to return to the squad … telling TMZ Sports the guy is a hard worker and a good friend … and he’s getting a bad rap.
As we previously reported, Combs — a redshirt junior — was asked to stay away from strength and conditioning drills for the rest of the summer … prompting the kettlebell incident involving his dad.
Now, we’ve spoken with 3 members of the UCLA football team — important guys — who tell us they respect Justin and don’t want him off the team.
As one player put it … “Justin is a great friend and teammate. He works hard on and off the field. I hope he comes back.”
Another player said, “He is a really cool guy to be around and I hope he does come back.”
Player #3 says, “Justin works hard everyday. We go out on our own together and work on our footwork and lift weights outside of practice. I feel the coaches should let him back on the team. I know we want him back.”
Multiple sources connected to the situation tell us … Combs has not returned to UCLA since the incident … and no decision has been made on his future with the Bruins.
The football coaching staff at UCLA has huddled and decided the best thing for everyone is for cops to drop the case against Diddy.
Sources directly connected with the team tell TMZ, the coaches are regretful the situation escalated to an arrest. They think Diddy is a jerk who they’d like to make persona non grata, but they don’t want to make this a courtroom spectacle, largely because it would be bad for the team.
Sources with direct knowledge of the confrontation between Diddy and Sal Alosi tell us, after the incident the coaches all decided to just let it go. They believe an intern called UCLA police and when the cops arrived, they asked to see the video and that was enough to hook Diddy up.
We’re told head coach Jim Mora does not want a criminal prosecution. The interns who were present and allegedly threatened could press the case, but if Mora is against it they would probably follow suit.
Law enforcement sources tell us … the case will go to the L.A. County D.A. for felony review next week. The D.A. could prosecute even without victims … there is a video, but that’s problematic.
Diddy claims he picked up the kettlebell in self-defense after Alosi and 4 others made an aggressive move.
We can’t wait to see the resolution to this struggle. There is not doubt that Diddy can’t either.
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Photo: Derrick Salters/WENN.com
