Syracuse wide receiver Marcus Sales’ interim suspension from Syracuse University was lifted Wednesday, but a Judicial Board complaint must be resolved before Sales can try to return to the football team, according to an article published by The Post-Standard.

Michael Vavonese, Sales’ defense lawyer, said in the article that Sales met with the Syracuse University Judicial Board last Friday about the suspension, which kept him from attending classes most of the fall semester even though he is still enrolled at the university.

Sales, a senior in the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, was suspended from the school and the football team after he and his brother, Michael Sales Jr., were arrested and charged with felony drug possession in July.

The charges against Sales were dropped Oct. 26 after an Onondaga County grand jury did not find enough evidence to charge Sales with drug possession. Michael Sales was indicted by the grand jury on felony drug charges.

Police pulled Sales over for running a red light and found drugs in the car. Sales faced charges of fifth- and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, second-degree criminally using drug paraphernalia and unlawful possession of marijuana. He was also charged with driving through a red light, consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle and violating the city’s open container law.

After the charges were dropped, Vavonese said Sales was looking forward to returning to classes and to the football team. Before Sales could do that, though, he had to go through the student judicial process.

Vavonese said in The Post-Standard article that the Judicial Board complaint, stemming from the original charges, is still pending.

SU head coach Doug Marrone said in a teleconference Wednesday he hasn’t talked with Sales or Vavonese about his possible return and wouldn’t have any discussions with them until the judicial process was cleared up.

Vavonese said in the article the judicial process likely wouldn’t be finished until the end of November. Syracuse plays its final regular-season game Dec. 3 at Pittsburgh, so there would only be a slim chance for him to come back to the team this season.

rjgery@syr.edu 

Published on November 10, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Ryne: rjgery@syr.edu