South Carolina Star Ashlyn Watkins Returns to Practice After Legal Charges Dismissed
On August 31, University of South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball player Ashlyn Watkins was arrested on charges of assault, battery, and kidnapping.
A police report filed that day cited that Watkins assaulted the alleged victim by "forcefully grabbing her face, pulling her by her arms, and pushing her," while inside a student housing center on South Carolina's campus, according to WTLX News19 station.
The report later added, "The warrant states that Watkins also picked up the victim against her will and carried her. It goes on to say that Watkins 'grabbed the victim's head and forced her to walk down the hall, thus controlling her movement while preventing her from leaving.' The latter allegation led to an additional charge of kidnapping."
Then on November 5, Lulu Kesin of Greenville News reported that these legal charges against Watkins have now been dismissed.
"According to the public index, both charges list the deposition as 'Dismissed Not Indicted' on Nov. 1 but give no details," Kesin wrote before adding, "Since her arrest, Watkins has been suspended from all team activities."
Now just one day later, South Carolina announced that Watkins has returned to practice.
“With the dismissal of the legal charges, South Carolina junior forward Ashlyn Watkins has returned to team activities beginning with practice today,” the team said in a statement on Wednesday, according to The Herald.
South Carolina announced Wednesday that Ashlyn Watkins has returned to full team activities. “With the dismissal of the legal charges, South Carolina junior forward Ashlyn Watkins has returned to team activities beginning with practice today.” https://t.co/GhUBiD28E1
— ESPN Women's Hoops (@ESPN_WomenHoop) November 6, 2024
This means that Watkins — who averaged 9.2 points and 7.4 rebounds per game last season as part of South Carolina's undefeated 2024 NCAA National Championship team — is immediately eligible to begin playing in games for the Gamecocks.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.