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NC State walk-on guard Staats Battle charged with driving while impaired

battle

Mark McIntyre

In the early hours of New Year’s Day, NC State walk-on guard Staats Battle was arrested on a charge of driving while impaired, as reported by WRAL television in Raleigh.

Battle, who did not dress for games against Boston College and Georgia Tech, has played in just seven games this season and played a total of ten minutes.

Head coach Mark Gottfried released the following statement on Battle’s legal situation and status on the team:

“We are aware of this unfortunate incident and have talked to Staats and his parents about it. Any further issue would result in his dismissal from the team.”

Obviously not having Battle available isn’t a major blow for the Wolfpack, who have won nine straight and host No. 1 Duke on Saturday afternoon.

The responsibilities for a walk-on are straightforward: go to class (getting good grades, of course), give the players in the rotation a good look in practice every day and stay out of trouble.

And doing those things won’t necessarily guarantee you “token” minutes at the end of games either.

Failure to uphold one’s responsibilities in the classroom or in society can lead to a shorter leash for a walk-on, because as callous as it is to say those players are essentially a dime a dozen on a major college campus.

But the most important aspect of this story is that no one was injured. No word from NC State on when Battle will be back with the team but hopefully when the time comes he’ll return having learned his lesson.

Photo credit: NC State Athletics

Raphielle also writes for the NBE Basketball Report and can be followed on Twitter at @raphiellej.