BLACKSBURG -- Suspended Virginia Tech wide receiver Ike Whitaker does not expect to play again for the Hokies.
Tech coach Frank Beamer announced last week that he had suspended Whitaker indefinitely for unspecified violations of team policy.
Whitaker said Beamer suspended him for missing a 7 a.m. wide receivers meeting last Wednesday. "I woke up late," Whitaker said. During a meeting later that morning, Beamer told Whitaker, a fourth-year junior, he would remain on scholarship this year, but suggested he transfer to another school next season to play his final year of eligibility.
Whitaker now wants to earn his degree at Tech and find a school where he can use the remaining year of eligibility playing quarterback, his original position. He moved to receiver before last season.
A day after Whitaker was suspended, he was arrested in downtown Blacksburg for misdemeanor public swearing and intoxication.
Whitaker said Beamer suspended him because he missed too many meetings. Whitaker acknowledged missing two meetings earlier this season, but said the usual punishment for missing meetings is extra running, not suspension.
"I know people who have missed more meetings than I have, and they're still on the team," he said. But he admitted that his past missteps could have affected Beamer's decision to suspend him. Whitaker was arrested in 2006 for public swearing and intoxication, destruction of property and underage possession of alcohol.
Tech athletic officials did not immediately return a request seeking comment.
Contact Daryl Slater at (804) 649-6026 or dslater@timesdispatch.com.
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