``Taurean Charles is no longer a member of our football program,'' Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley said in a statement. ``We wish Taurean the best of luck in the future.''
Charles had been placed on a year's probation by the university last month after he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of culpable negligence. He missed the entire 2004 season after the school suspended him indefinitely for the July arrest.
He had been attending class in the hopes of a resolution, but the Miami native will now likely transfer.
The junior was arrested after authorities said he punched a fellow student in the head and threw a keg of beer on his face, causing serious injury during a party near campus. He served four days in jail and was ordered to pay restitution and be assessed for anger management.
That was the second time in a little more than a year Charles had been arrested. He pleaded no contest in June 2003 to a simple battery charge in an altercation with a female UF student in her dorm room in March of that year.
Charles joined the Gators as one of the nation's top rush linebackers out of Miami Northwestern. He had served as a backup middle linebacker and special teams player in his one full season with the Gators in 2003.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2005/3/137659