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Ex-Baylor associate AD won't be indicted for alleged postgame assault of reporter

A grand jury won’t indict a Baylor associate AD who was charged with allegedly assaulting a reporter. (Getty)
A grand jury won’t indict a Baylor associate AD who was charged with allegedly assaulting a reporter. (Getty)

A grand jury will not indict a former Baylor staffer who was charged in November with allegedly assaulting a reporter on the field after a loss.

The attorney for former Baylor associate athletic director Heath Nielsen told ESPN that McLennan County prosecutors presented the case to a grand jury Wednesday morning, with the jury returning a no bill, meaning it will not indict the case.

“We are not surprised, but we are grateful that the video evidence revealed the truth and the innocence of Heath Nielsen regarding the recent accusations made against him,” his attorney Michelle Simpson Tuegel said in a statement. “Mr. Nielsen’s case is an example of the power of a false accusation and the importance of the presumption of innocence. Thank you to the McLennan County District Attorney and the grand jury for their careful consideration and for doing the right thing.”

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Nielsen had been charged with misdemeanor assault with bodily injury. According to an arrest warrant obtained by KWTX-TV, James McBride, a writer for The Blaze News in Keller, was taking a picture with a Baylor player after its 62-22 loss to TCU on Nov. 5 when Nielsen allegedly grabbed McBride by the “throat with his right hand, squeezed and pushed him away from the football player” while also allegedly saying McBride would never work in the business again.

“I had asked the player if I could take a photo with him, he said ‘yes,’” McBride said Monday.

“I was leaning back to take the photo. I heard somebody who I didn’t know at this point in time yell from my right-hand side, saying ‘no interviews on the field,’” he said.

“About that time they came in and tomahawk-chopped, trying to knock the phone that I had taken the picture with out of my hand. They were unsuccessful in trying to do that, and when they couldn’t do that they came up and they grabbed my throat, and I pulled back. Whenever I looked up I saw that it was Heath Nielsen,” he said.

Per KWTX, the grand jury declined to indict Nielsen after viewing security footage of the incident from McLane Stadium. The school has not released the footage publicly.

Nielsen spent 17 seasons with Baylor, having held his latest position with the school since 2012. ESPN, citing a source, reported that Nielsen has been dismissed from the school.

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Matt Fortuna is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!