WACO -- Baylor University officials will not release results of an investigation of two athletes accused of shooting and skinning a cat.
Former pitcher Derek Brehm, 20, and former reserve outfielder Clint Bowers, 22, were charged March 9 with animal cruelty after the head of a skinned cat was discovered in the back of Bowers' Chevrolet Tahoe.
Baylor spokesman Larry Brumley said Tuesday the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act prevents the university from releasing any findings of its investigation or how it may have disciplined the players.
Head baseball coach Steve Smith announced last week that the players had been indefinitely suspended. He was able to discuss the players' status with the team because the athletics department is not governed by the same set of rules as the university, Brumley told the Waco Tribune-Herald.
The students were arrested after officers responded to a report of a firearm being discharged near a Taco Cabana. Police were told someone had shot a stray cat that restaurant employees had named Queso, and put it in a sports utility vehicle and drove away.
Police then stopped Bowers' vehicle and saw what appeared to be blood on the door and steering wheel.
While searching the truck, police found a severed, skinned cat's head in the back beneath some clothing, as well a pellet gun, a knife and a golf club that appeared to have cat hair on it.
Both students were taken to the McLennan County Jail and were released later that day on $2,000 bail each.
Although the incident occurred off campus, Baylor officials investigated because the school has the authority to discipline students for misconduct both on and off campus. According to the university's student handbook, officials can impose punishment ranging from a reprimand to expulsion and can do so before the outcome of legal action.
Under Texas law, animal cruelty is a Class A misdemeanor and carries a punishment of up to a year in jail and up to a $4,000 fine.
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