Wisconsin junior forward Ryan MacMurchy said Wednesday he will appeal an indefinite suspension handed down earlier in the day under the school’s discipline code for athletes.
MacMurchy, a 21-year-old winger from Regina, Saskatchewan, was cited for misdemeanor battery after a fight outside a Madison bar early Sunday morning. That triggered the UW’s year-old Student-Athlete Discipline Policy, which punishes athletes who violate the law involving drugs, gambling or violence.
MacMurchy is suspended from official practices and games until the legal issues are resolved unless the five-person appeals committee, which he hoped would meet next week, sets a term of punishment.
The Badgers’ top returning scorer participated in a captain’s practice Wednesday because it was not an officially sanctioned practice. He said he was not allowed to comment on the suspension.
Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves was out of town on a recruiting trip.
“We support Ryan and we support the policy,” Badgers associate head coach Troy Ward said. “Ryan is a very mature young man and he wants to meet with the group and speak his peace.”
MacMurchy was cited after allegedly being involved in a fight with Chris Chelios, 30, a former Wisconsin-Superior player and a cousin of the NHL and former Wisconsin player with the same name.
According to Madison police, MacMurchy needed four stitches to close a cut as a result of the fight, but was not jailed. Chelios was charged with substantial battery and was released from jail later that day.
