Grand Junction police arrested a Colorado Mesa University football player accused of assault.
Witnesses told police 20-year-old Shane Williams had a verbal fight with a woman that turned into a physical fight in which he allegedly slammed her onto the pavement early Feb. 17.
The woman, Chelsea Gallagher, told KJCT-TV in Grand Junction that the fight seems to have stemmed from her and her girlfriend, Ashley Davis being gay. Gallagher said she was knocked out cold, but ended up with a fractured skull.
“Going outside to leave…is when they started kind of making comments about us being gay and saying that Ashley looked like a boy and stuff,” Gallagher, who is continuing her recovery in the hospital, said.
Davis said an associates of Williams yelled homophobic slurs at the women before the assault. Davis said she and a man identified as “Dakota” “ended up in a little bit of a scuffle, some pushing and what not,” at which point Gallagher tried to break them up.
Police said Williams was arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault, possession of a fake ID, and being a minor in possession of alcohol. Formal charges have currently not been filed.
CMU officials have yet to comment on the incident, but one of the university’s Gay Straight Alliance group members has nonetheless condemned the incident. “Unfortunately [being gay] makes you a target,” Sarah Swedberg KJCT 8, a local television station.
Police say Williams is free on bond. Formal charges haven’t been filed yet.
