Brigham Young University's athletics department responded Wednesday after a video circulated online showing former wide receiver Parker Kingston working out inside the school’s indoor practice facility.
As reported by Salt Lake City CBS affiliate KUTV, Kingston is a former BYU football player charged earlier this year with first-degree felony rape. He is scheduled to appear in court Thursday morning in St. George for a pretrial conference.
The video was posted on social media by a BYU football alum who often leads wide receiver drills for high school and college players, KUTV's Liv Kelleher reported. In the video, Kingston can be seen wearing No. 11 — his jersey number while with the Cougars — and participating in drills with other wide receivers.
Kingston was expelled from BYU and removed from the football team in February after his arrest, according to Kelleher.
KUTV asked BYU athletics why an expelled student was allowed to use university facilities and how the department responds to criticism that allowing Kingston on campus downplays the severity of the charge against him.
BYU athletics responded with a statement saying the workout was not organized by the university.
“The video currently circulating is from a workout not run by BYU players or staff,” the statement said. “This was not a BYU team activity and BYU officials were unaware of it taking place and have responded appropriately.”
“There are two courts that are going on right now,” Nathan Evershed, a former prosecutor and current defense attorney who is not connectedd to Kingston’s case, told KUTV. “There’s the court of public opinion, and then there’s the court of law.”
Evershed said he does not believe the video is likely to affect a judge or jury in the criminal case, but said the optics are not ideal. “Optically speaking, in the court of public opinion, it could be something where people draw a lot of inferences from it,” he said.
“In the court of law, though, I don’t see this being an impactful element whatsoever.”
Kingston’s hearing was originally scheduled for Wednesday but was moved to Thursday at 9 a.m.
"The case has already included concerns about scheduling and allegations of preferential treatment due to Kingston's prominence as a football player," KUTV's Kelleher reported. "Prosecutors previously filed a motion seeking to disqualify the judge, alleging Kingston was receiving preferential treatment in court scheduling to accommodate his football schedule. That motion was denied."
