Linebacker Santino Marchiol, who transferred to Arizona from Texas A&M and alleged that the Aggies' coaches committed NCAA violations, is no longer on the Wildcats' roster.
Arizona coach Kevin Sumlin told reporters Monday that Marchiol "was informed this morning that he's no longer on the team."
The announcement comes after a Hudl video, linked to an account believed to be Marchiol's, surfaced Friday. The clip includes two people discussing footage of a Texas A&M scrimmage from April. A voice in the clip refers to several black players as "monkeys."
Sumlin declined to provide further details for the decision, but a source told ESPN that Santino's removal from the roster was because of the video.
The clip has since been deleted. The account features several videos of Marchiol's high school highlights.
Attorney Thomas Mars, who is representing Marchiol, said he is "heartbroken" by the situation.
"As someone who helped lead the effort to advance diversity in the legal profession, served on the National Urban League board, and worked closely with people like Dennis Archer, Rev. Al Sharpton, and other prominent African-American leaders, I understand and respect the University's decision," Mars said in a statement. "On the other hand, as someone who's grown close to Santino and who knows the quality of his character, the depth of his faith, and the sincerity of his convictions, I'm heartbroken. What can be heard on the highlights video doesn't reflect the values or beliefs of the young man that I've come to know."
Marchiol, who played for Sumlin at Texas A&M last season before deciding to transfer recently, alleged in a USA Today story that he was given hundreds of dollars in cash by assistant coaches to host recruits on unofficial visits; the staff conducted offseason workouts that were longer than NCAA rules allow; and the training staff mishandled his ankle injury.
NCAA rules state that schools cannot pay for any of a recruit's expenses on an unofficial visit, except for providing up to three free tickets to a home sporting event. The NCAA allows student hosts $40 to entertain recruits who are on official visits.
Marchiol made his allegations in an attempt to gain immediate eligibility at Arizona rather than sitting out a season, as NCAA transfer rules require. Under new transfer legislation the NCAA passed in June, a player may get a waiver for immediate eligibility if "the transfer is due to documented mitigating circumstances that are outside the student-athlete's control and directly impact the health, safety and well-being of the student-athlete."
Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said Thursday that he takes Marchiol's allegations "very seriously" and that the program would cooperate with any records requests or investigation.