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WSU files response to Robert Barber’s Superior Court petition; asks court to deny request for stay

WSU responds to Robert Barber's filing in Whitman County Superior Court, refuting his claim of procedural violations and alleging that Barber had a history of violent behavior.

Washington State on Thursday defended its decision to suspend football player Robert Barber, revealing a previously unreported arrested that the university’s attorney general said contributed to a pattern of violent behavior by the senior defensive lineman.

WSU was responding to Barber’s Superior Court petition fighting the suspension, which has effectively ended his football career.

It had been based on Barber’s July arrest in connection with an off-campus fight, but Thursday’s filing by WSU also included a police report of a March incident in which Barber was cited for harassment after he threatened an off-duty police officer and yelled “racially charged expletives,” WSU’s Senior Assistant Attorney General Danielle Hess stated in the university’s filing.