Oregon State Suspends Three Players After Bar Brawl

Oregon State has suspended three players after a weekend bar brawl, and the young men have been arraigned on downgraded charges.

The three Oregon State players suspended are Rudolf Fifita, 26, Mana Rosa, 21, and Dyllon Kalana Mafi, 20. Fifita, Rosa, and Mafi were arrested early Saturday after what has been described as an alcohol-influenced spate of bad behavior in the Friday night spill-over at the Impulse Bar and Grill, per the Corvallis Police Department.

A local Oregon State blog reported on the suspension of the three, quoting local police Lt. Cord Wood, who explained the incident that led to the men being arrested on what was originally a felony charge:

“Wood said that Fifita and a man he referred to as ‘victim 1’ in the report got into a heated exchange of words. A friend of ‘victim 1’ got between him and Fifita, and seemed to cool things down. However, as the men were leaving, Wood said that Fifita allegedly threw a punch, striking ‘victim 1.’ At that point, Rosa and Mafi reportedly joined in, and the man who had tried to intervene as well as ‘victim 1’ ended up getting punched ‘multiple times,’ Wood said.”

According to Wood, “the three suspects fled”when a bouncer appeared, but police arrived and “the players were identified and arrested a short distance away.”

An update on the Oregon State players suspensions indicates that felony charges including assault were downgraded to misdemeanors and that Coach Mike Riley made a subsequent decision to suspend all three young men “indefinitely” due to their arrests during the off-campus incident.