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Restraining orders prevent 3 more Minnesota players from home games

Five Minnesota players can't play Saturday vs. Rutgers due to restraining orders. (Getty)
Five Minnesota players can’t play Saturday vs. Rutgers due to restraining orders. (Getty)

Three additional Minnesota players have been served with restraining orders preventing them from playing in games at the Gophers’ TCF Bank Stadium effective immediately.

According to KMSP in Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, an attorney for defensive backs Ray Buford, KiAnte Hardin and Dior Johnson said the three received restraining orders Friday. They were suspended from the team along with defensive lineman Tamarion Johnson in September for what was termed a violation of team rules.

The four players were named in a sexual assault investigation. Prosecutors declined to file charges on Oct. 3, citing insufficient evidence and the players were then reinstated to the team. The four were named in the investigation into the incident, which allegedly happened in the early morning hours after the Gophers’ season-opening game vs. Oregon State on Sept. 1.

The woman who made the sexual assault accusation works home games at TCF Bank Stadium, which is why the restraining order prevents the players from being at the stadium. Tamarion Johnson and running back Carlton Djam were served with restraining orders earlier in the week. A spokesperson for Minnesota said the school would “honor and comply with court orders.”

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A lawyer for Djam and Johnson said he was contesting the restraining order, while the attorney for the players served Friday said the order against his clients had been amended to allow them to stay in their campus apartments and attend class. A hearing for the players is set for Tuesday.

“What we are going to do is aggressively defend this action,” attorney Lee Hutton told the Star-Tribune. “We are going to go on the offensive to show she only used the courts to destroy my clients’ lives.”

Minnesota plays Rutgers at home on Saturday. Hardin has 13 tackles and two interceptions in 2016 while Buford has two tackles.

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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!