Washington's Dime suspended indefinitely after slapping heckling Colorado students

Huskies' top shot blocker, out with an injury, apparently did not like noise coming from the C-Unit

Washington's top shot-blocker this season, Malik Dime, has been suspended indefinitely for reportedly slapping two heckling fans in the face Thursday night during the Huskies' 81-66 loss at Colorado in Boulder.

Dime, who was sitting out a ninth straight game because of a broken finger, walked from the bench over to the Colorado student section and slapped two heckling students in the face, BSN Denver's Jake Shapiro reported. Shapiro reported two Colorado students, identified only as Dylan and Brian, said they were slapped after Dime took exception to the heckling coming from the student section known as the "C-Unit."

"We were talking the usual game talk with the players like we usually do," Dylan told BSN Denver. "Malik looked over at us at one point and said 'I'm gonna come over there and slap the s--- out of you.' We didn't think that was real so we just laughed and then at the end of the half he came over to us and pretended like he was giving me a handshake and I reached out and he pulled back and slapped me in the face and the follow through hit the person sitting right next to me, which was Brian."

One of the men later told the Tacoma News Tribune that the tension had been resolved, saying, "Everything's been made right."

Washington head coach Lorenzo Romar said after the game the school was looking into the incident and handed down the suspension on Friday afternoon.

"Malik's actions were inconsistent with his typical behavior," Romar said in a statement Friday. "They were absolutely unacceptable, and did not represent the values of our team and the sportsmanship spirit of our conference."

Dime also apologized in the statement, saying he was "caught up in the emotions of the game" allowed his frustrations to influence his behavior.

"I made a very poor decision," Dime said, "and did not represent my team, my University, and my family the way I wanted to. I am glad I had the chance to apologize in person to the students involved in the altercation, and I am prepared to accept the full consequences of my actions."