According to WPXI, three Pitt Panthers football players were charged by University of Pittsburgh police for recklessly driving dirt bikes through Oakland.
The players include wide receivers Cataurus “Blue” Hicks, Tyreek Robinson and defensive back Zion Ferguson. The incident happened on June 16, with the three players allegedly driving away from police officers after the officers spotted them driving on the sidewalk of Fifth Avenue. The police and court documents say that the players drove through red lights and almost hit other vehicles and pedestrians.
Ferguson did end up crashing into a fire department veichle on Fifth Avenue, according to the police.
Hicks faces charges for felony fleeing and rioting. Ferguson and Robinson face charges for fleeing.
The University of Pittsburgh hasn’t put out a statement, but did tell WPXI they are “reviewing the information”.
Possible Punishment
The NCAA does not have much power to punish players for their conduct unrelated to sports integrity. Even when they do have leeway in enforcing punishment, they haven’t been that strong in recent cases.
However, Pitt could enforce their own code of conduct for athletes. The Pitt Student Athlete Handbook states the following for players charged with a felony:
“Any current or incoming student-athlete charged with a felony will be suspended automatically from practice and competition privileges upon notification to the head coach until the charges are dropped, dismissed or otherwise resolved to the satisfaction of the University. In addition, the student-athlete may be prohibited from utilizing any of the support services (academic support, life skills programming, etc.) provided by the Department of Athletics during the suspension. If the student-athlete is convicted or pleads guilty or no contest to a felony, the student-athlete will be dismissed permanently from the team.”
If all charges are dismissed, the student-athletes can be reinstated. If the charges are lightened to a misdemeanor, there are less harsh punishments that the Athletic Director can decide to give.
Players Charged
Hicks is the most popular of the three players charged. The transfer from Louisville caught for 422 receiving yards and four touchdowns in his first season with the Panthers.
With the transfers both gained and lost for the Panthers, Hicks is someone who was looked at to be a key part of Pitt’s offense for the 2026 season.
Robinson did not get any playing time last season, but did play in five games during the 2024 season. Ferguson, a transfer from North Carolina, played in 11 games and recorded eight tackles last season.
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