Coach's son arrested on DWI charge
Published Feb. 20, 2007
Michael Anderson Jr., a guard on the MU men's basketball team and coach Mike Anderson's son, was arrested early Friday morning just a block from his home court. MU police made the arrest after they pulled him over for a traffic violation and suspected he was driving under the influence of alcohol.
Michael Anderson Jr. was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated at the intersection of Stadium Boulevard and Mick Deaver Memorial Drive, a block away from Mizzou Arena.
He was arrested at approximately 1:40 a.m. Friday, MU police Capt. Brian Weimer said. He was pulled over after running a red light, according to police records.
Mike Anderson released a statement Friday to comment on his son's arrest.
"We are obviously very disappointed in the decision made by Michael," Mike Anderson stated in the news release. "This is a serious error in judgment, and we regret any inconvenience this has brought upon our community, our campus and our program."
Mike Anderson also said as the team's coach, he would take disciplinary action in response to the arrest.
"Michael will be suspended indefinitely from the team, which includes his ability to practice," Mike Anderson stated in the release. "All other disciplinary action will be handled internally."
There were no passengers in Michael Anderson Jr.'s car at the time of his arrest, MU police Capt. Brian Weimer said.
MU athletic department spokesman Chad Moller said he could not comment on when Anderson would be allowed to return to practice and play with the Tigers.
"That's a fluid thing, and it's completely up to the individual coach," he said.
Moller said Mike Anderson has never dealt with a similar issue with another MU player, as this is his first season coaching the Tigers.
Michael Anderson Jr., a sophomore, transferred to MU from the University of Alabama at Birmingham after his father moved from UAB to take a coaching position at MU. Michael Anderson Jr. transferred to play under his father on the men's basketball team.
Michael Anderson Jr. had not played in the last three of the Tigers games before his arrest. Anderson averaged less than two minutes of play per game, as well as less than one point per game on average.
The team's record is 16-9, ranking them ninth in the Big 12 Conference above Nebraska, Iowa State, Baylor and Colorado. The Tigers will next play Oklahoma tonight at 6 p.m. in Mizzou Arena.
In a 2001 survey of NCAA athletes by the NCAA Research Staff, 1.7 percent of student athletes represented by the association had been arrested for a DWI or DUI related offense. The survey polled 12 percent of student athletes in all divisions of the NCAA and collectively produced more than 20,000 usable responses.