Ohio State LB K’Vaughan Pope dismissed from team, issues apology after Saturday sideline blowup

K’Vaughan Pope has been dismissed from the Ohio State football team.

During Saturday’s win over Akron, Pope had to be escorted to the locker room by an OSU staffer after a heated moment on the sideline. Once in the locker room, Pope tweeted “f— Ohio State” while the game was occurring. He later deleted the tweet.

On Sunday, the school announced that Pope is no longer a member of the team. OSU head coach Ryan Day said that Pope will remain on scholarship through the end of the current semester.

“Senior linebacker K’Vaughan Pope has been dismissed from the Ohio State football team,” Day said. “K’Vaughan will continue to have the use of programs that benefit student-athletes, such as our Student-Athlete Support Services Office, and we will support him with his progress toward graduation. He will remain on scholarship through the duration of the semester.”

According to Lettermen Row, the senior linebacker tried to enter Saturday’s game but was waved back to the sideline by a teammate. Pope was visibly upset on the sideline and coaches and teammates attempted to calm him down. Eventually, Pope went back to the locker room after throwing his gloves into the stands and attempting to take off his uniform.

Once Pope was in the locker room, he sent out two tweets. The first simply said “good luck to my teammates.” The other was an expletive aimed at OSU.

After the news of his dismissal emerged, Pope issued an apology saying he let his emotions get the best of him and that he “made a mistake.”

Pope played in 33 games at Ohio State, mainly as a backup and special teams player. He was expected to compete for a starting role entering the season, but has not been able to earn a significant role on the defense.

Ohio State won Saturday’s game 59-7 to improve to 3-1. Now ranked No. 11, the Buckeyes will host Rutgers next weekend.