Looking Forward
9/4/2026 2:10:00 PM | General
There has been a lot of public discussion over the last few weeks about an incident in the TCU football locker room involving two members of our football program that led to the hospitalization of one student-athlete and the arrest of another.
As the leader of the TCU Athletics program, my highest priority is the safety and well-being of our student athletes, and I feel compelled to address a few of the questions that have persisted.
First, the football and sports medicine staff responded appropriately and immediately to the incident. A trainer and team doctors provided immediate care on-site before transporting the injured student-athlete to the hospital for further treatment. Fortunately, he is on his way to recovery with the support of his team and his coaching staff. The well-being of this student has been, and will remain, our top priority.
On the same day as the locker room incident, Coach Dykes suspended the other student-athlete involved. He never practiced again. After following the appropriate process, Coach Dykes permanently dismissed him from the team on August 15.
This incident led to a brief dispute between TCU and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram over reporting of the timeline and details, which resulted in our decision to revoke the newspaper's media credentials for one game.
TCU strongly believes in the importance of independent journalism; that commitment is reflected in our university's work to educate and train future journalists and communicators.
Our concern was never that the Star-Telegram reported on a particular incident, scrutinized our football program or published information critical of our university. Instead, we took exception to their publication of an uncorroborated account that shifted the blame to the victim. This resulted in threats against the victim and his family. We have a responsibility to advocate for our students, even as we respect the independence of the journalists. We temporarily suspended the Star-Telegram's athletics media credentials until we could discuss our concerns with them.
In recent days, we have had productive conversations with Star-Telegram leadership. Today, we restored the credential. Any dispute over media coverage is secondary to the significant matter that brought us here in the first place – an ongoing criminal case against a former student. We will continue to fully cooperate with the appropriate authorities and respect the legal process as it proceeds.
Our commitment as an athletics department is to build a culture grounded in integrity, accountability, excellence and care for one another. This commitment will guide us through challenging moments as surely as it leads us through successful ones.
Mike Buddie
Director of Intercollegiate Athletics
FORT WORTH – Today, TCU Athletics fully restored media credentials to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
In a series of productive discussions, we made clear our position and resolved to move forward. We respect their role as an independent news source and voice in our community, and we look forward to the season ahead.
