Baylor University associate athletic director Heath Nielsen was charged earlier in November with assaulting a local reporter who was photographing a player on the field with his permission.
Heath Nielsen is free on bond after his arrest for misdemeanor assault in a Nov. 5 incident in which Nielsen is alleged to have grabbed the reporter by the throat and pushed him. The Baylor Bears had just lost a game to TCU prior to the incident, CBS News reported.
Nielsen was placed on a leave of absence after the incident, which involved The Blaze News reporter James McBride, according to CBS News.
After trying to chop McBride’s phone out of his hand, Nielsen reportedly grabbed McBride’s throat. Nielsen then told McBride that he would “never (expletive) work in this business again” and that he was “abusing your privileges on the field.”
Stadium cameras are reported to have recorded the assault. The university said that it was addressing the incident with Nielsen “through the University’s human resources process” and that it would “handle this personnel matter internally,” USA Today reported.
Nielsen’s attorney challenges McBride’s version of events, saying that he stopped the interview but did not assault McBride. “We look forward to vigorously defending Mr. Nielsen and presenting the facts involved in this situation,” Michelle Simpson Tuegel said, USA Today reported.
McBride said to KWTX that Nielsen has had problems with some of his past articles and videos. He also said that he thinks Nielsen should lose his job because of the incident, Fox News reported.
Nielsen has worked for Baylor for 17 years.