Florida State RB Dalvin Cook charged with battery, indefinitely suspended

Updated at 4:40 p.m.: Florida State announced Friday that Dalvin Cook has been suspended indefinitely.

"Florida State Athletics announced today the indefinite suspension of sophomore Dalvin Cook from the football team following a misdemeanor battery charge," read a statement from the school. "Athletics will have no further comment at this time.”

Original story:

Florida State just can't stop making headlines for all the wrong reasons this summer.

According to a report from the Tallahassee Democrat, Florida State running back Dalvin Cook has been under investigation for the alleged battery of a 21-year-old woman outside a Tallahassee bar on June 23. State Attorney Willie Meggs told that paper that he was reviewing the case, but clarified to ESPN later Friday that -- after speaking with the woman and a female witness -- a warrant will be issued for Cook's arrest.

Cook is set to be charged with misdemeanor battery.

Per ESPN, Cook is accused of punching the woman "in the face several times." Meggs reviewed photos of the woman's injuries and told ESPN he "found the women to be very credible."

"I told him [a man that was not Cook] I had a boyfriend and wasn't interested," said the woman, who spoke to ESPN.com on the condition she not be identified.

The woman said the man returned to the parking lot with Cook and an argument became heated, and then Cook punched her in the face several times. Her friend ran to a nearby Tallahassee Police car, which wasn't occupied, so the woman called 911.

"They kept telling me they were football players," the woman said. "They kept telling me to Google them. They told me they were football players and they could buy me in two years."

The woman told ESPN she suffered a split lip and other minor facial injuries after she refused to give a friend of Cook's her number outside the bar, leading to an argument. A witness told ESPN he attempted to defuse the confrontation between (in ESPN's words) "the two women and a group of five to seven men." After a security officer left the parking lot to go inside the bar, "the girl got punched in the mouth," the witness said.

According to the affidavit (via Asher Wildman), Florida State wide receiver Travis Rudolph was too close to the woman, and she shoved him away. Shouting then started and Cook allegedly hit her. Cook then approached the woman one more time while being restrained and managed to strike her in the face at least one more time. The affidavit goes on to state that one witness could not identify Cook in a photographic lineup, but that the alleged victim identified him with "100 percent certainty." Cook says he cannot remember getting into an argument with anybody that night, and that he did not strike anyone.

The alleged incident took place one day before former Seminoles quarterback De'Andre Johnson was charged with misdemeanor battery after punching a female Florida State student at a different bar. Johnson was initially suspended indefinitely following his arrest, but was dismissed from the team on Monday after video of the incident was made public by the state.

Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher released the following statement on Friday evening:

Recent events at Florida State University involving members of my football team have brought a lot of attention to the school and program. It is important to me that our fans and public be aware that I do not tolerate the type of behavior that was captured on video and that was most recently alleged. We spend a good deal of time educating our student-athletes about appropriate behavior and their responsibilities as representatives of Florida State. The majority of our players are exemplary, but clearly we must place an even stronger emphasis on this, and I personally promise we will.

I remain committed to educating our young men and holding them accountable for their actions.

Florida State is a great university. Our fans and supporters deserve better than to hear of actions that are not consistent with the school’s proud history and national stature.

We will do better. I will not tolerate anything less.

Cook is coming off a big season for the Seminoles, as he rushed for 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns as a freshman in 2014. He ended the season with three straight 100-plus yard rushing games, including 177 on 31 carries with a touchdown in the ACC Championship Game vs. Georgia Tech.

Cook has been involved in two previous incidents involving police, one from July 2014 in which Cook was named an "associate" to a case in which two men were alleged to have brandished a firearm at a neighbor, and one from June 2014 in which he was one of three players questioned after a "BB gun battle" caused damage to a Tallahassee apartment complex. Cook was initially charged with misdemeanor criminal mischief and entered a pretrial diversion program which he completed this past June.

Cook is currently slated to be Florida State's starting running back this season.