Washington State wide receiver Gabe Marks was intoxicated when police arrested him outside a bar in the middle of WSU’s Greek Row early Saturday morning, Pullman Police Cmdr. Chris Tennant said Monday. Police didn’t give Marks a breathalyzer test before taking him to the department’s holding facility. They didn’t need to, according to Tennant.
“He was to the point where he could not put together a complete sentence,” he said.
Marks, 19, sat at the holding facility for a number of hours, Tennant said, then was charged with fourth-degree assault, second-degree criminal trespass, a minor intoxicated in public and “frequenting a tavern” as a minor, all of which are misdemeanors, before being released early Saturday morning. A court date hasn’t been set.
The night turned violent shortly after 2 a.m. when Marks was involved in an altercation on the patio of Adams Mall outside the popular dance club, “Stubblefields,” according to bar owner D.J. Goldfinger.
Neither Goldfinger or Tennant knew what started the altercation.
“I heard that he was an obnoxious drunk, but I don’t know any details other than that he was picking on some other patrons,” Tennant said.
More clear was Marks’ alleged response after he was asked to leave the area. He refused, then allegedly punched the bar’s assistant manager in the face. Marks was detained until the police arrived, at which point they determined he was under the legal drinking age of 21 and allegedly used a fake identification to enter the bar, Tennant said.
Goldfinger said he wasn’t going to press charges.
“We just wanted him to leave,” he said.
Reached Sunday, a WSU spokesperson said he wouldn’t comment on team matters. A text to WSU coach Mike Leach asking if Marks’ status with the program had changed wasn’t returned. Marks apologized through Twitter on Sunday morning, writing, “I’m sorry to everyone who believed in me. My actions are my own, and I have to live with it. Can’t change the past. Can only look forward.”
Marks later deleted the tweet.
Since taking over in 2012, Leach implemented a one-strike dismissal policy for players who use illegal drugs, steal, or hit women. Those who committed alcohol-related offenses faced lesser punishments.
In April 2012, Leach was asked after a spring practice about his unique disciplinary policy after offensive lineman Denzell Dotson was arrested on suspicion of DUI but not kicked off the team.
“We look at each situation separately and consider the facts of the situation,” Leach said. “The other thing is, I’m not going to share internal stuff. But when there’s other things like fights and minors under the influence, then we’ll evaluate on a case-to-case basis. I’m sure you’ll agree because the facts on this are indisputable, but my line’s a little more solid than it is around the country with regard to dismissals and the three (rules) there.”
“You might like it. You might dislike it. But that’s what it is.”
The incident over the weekend wasn’t Marks’ first run-in with law enforcement since he came to Pullman as the highest-ranked wide receiver in Leach’s first WSU recruiting class.
In February 2013, Marks was cited for being a minor exhibiting the effects of having consumed alcohol near WSU’s Lower Soccer Fields.
As a sophomore last season, he led the Cougars with 74 catches, 807 receiving yards and tied for a team-best seven receiving touchdowns.
