TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Former Florida State starting offensive tackle Josh Ball, suspended by a school judicial panel in May after a Title IX investigation found him responsible for dating violence, will attempt to return to the program in January, multiple sources told The Athletic.
A source with direct knowledge of the situation said if Ball is reinstated by the university, the coaching staff is open to allowing him back on the team. Another source said the plan always was for Ball to attempt to return to the team.
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Ball, a former four-star recruit from Fredericksburg, Va., started nine games at offensive tackle in 2017 and went through spring practice in 2018 before he was suspended. After he was suspended, he transferred to Butler County CC in El Dorado, Kan. The Grizzlies’ season ended with a 34-30 win over Northeastern Oklahoma A&M in the Midwest Classic Bowl on Sunday.
“It is my understanding that FSU would love to have him back on their team,” Butler coach Tim Schaffner texted to The Athletic. But he also said his school hadn’t had any contact with FSU officials and that Ball hasn’t made any decision about where he will go next.
Another person familiar with the situation said Ball intends to move to Tallahassee in January and go through spring practice. But for that to happen, the school would have to allow him to re-enroll in January. One of the sources who said Ball would attempt to return noted that it is up to university officials and not the athletic department about any re-enrollment.
In a case such as this, when a student is separated from the university for a specified period, the FSU Student Conduct Code states that “outcomes that may involve separation from campus may require readmission to the University, depending on the length of the separation from the institution.” Readmission is not guaranteed, even after the period of separation is complete.
Ball started nine games at tackle for the Seminoles in 2017 and almost certainly would’ve been a starter in 2018. (Rob Kinnan / USA TODAY Sports)
Because it was a Title IX case, there are no public documents because of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). But there is a police report filed by Tallahassee Police detailing incidents between Ball and then-girlfriend Sandra Sellers. She received an injunction against Ball — technically, it was an Injunction for Protection Against Dating Violence — on Nov. 13, 2017. It barred Ball from having any contact with Sellers and prohibited him from going within 500 feet of her current residence, her parents’ residence or her place of worship, and from going within 100 feet of any of Sellers’ schools, her place of employment or her car. One important distinction of the injunction was that Ball would not be prohibited from registering for and attending classes at FSU in the future.
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Ball was not charged with any crime, but the injunction highlighted 11 incidents between Ball and Sellers, including three in which he made physical contact with her: He slapped her in the face after breaking her cellphone, he pushed her into a closet because he was upset she went to Disney World with a friend and did not text back fast enough, and he threw her to the floor, cutting open her right knee, when he thought she was not spending enough time with him as he was recovering from a concussion.
The school’s Title IX hearing was held in May. On May 22, Ball was suspended from FSU and dismissed from the football team. Sellers briefly posted a photo on Facebook of a letter from the school detailing the Title IX decision but later deleted it.
“I am trying to put this behind me. But I will not be silenced or intimidated by this repeat sexual and physical abuser,” Sellers wrote Tuesday in a post to her Instagram Story. “His reprehensible behavior is public record. For Willie Taggart to even consider bringing him back on campus is a physical threat to me and any other woman at FSU. He’s been given multiple chances and was enabled by the previous coaching staff who even conspired to cover up his behavior and blame me. Trust me when I say FSU does not want to reopen this wound.
“I am a huge FSU football fan and have always been. I want the best for the team. … (Taggart) can recruit better players and much better human beings. I will have no further comment.”
From a football standpoint, Ball’s fit is obvious. He plays a position that is Florida State’s greatest position of need and presumably would be an immediate starter upon his return. He also has some experience in Taggart’s Gulf Coast offense, as he went through spring practice and played in the spring game.
While the on-field adjustment likely would be smooth, the off-field adjustment potentially could be a different matter.
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Two of the sources who said Ball planned to return said he will be “put through the wringer” in returning to FSU and that Ball will have to be “mentally prepared for the storm he is about to be in.” That “storm” also would affect university officials and the coaching staff.
(Top photo by Logan Stanford / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Tashan Reed is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Las Vegas Raiders. He previously covered Florida State football for The Athletic. Prior to joining The Athletic, he covered high school and NAIA college sports for the Columbia Missourian, Mizzou football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball for SBNation blog Rock M Nation, wrote stories focused on the African-American community for The St. Louis American and was a sports intern at the Commercial Appeal in Memphis through the Sports Journalism Institute. Follow Tashan on Twitter @tashanreed
