REPORT: Oregon State CB Exodus Ayers Arrested
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The other shoe has dropped.
Two months after Exodus Ayers’ ex-girlfriend filed a report with the Corvallis Police Department, Oregon State’s once-promising sophomore cornerback was taken into police custody yesterday. Ayers’ arrest was first reported by OregonLive.com’s Ryan Clarke, and now confirmed by multiple outlets.
The sophomore cornerback’s rap sheet is alarming: three counts of assault, four counts of harassment, two counts of coercion, accusations of strangulation, and more.
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Ayers’ arrest follows the dismissal of a temporary stalking protective order in Benton County circuit court in early September. At the time, his attorney denied the allegations against Ayers, and accused Oregon State University of suspending the student-athlete without due process. The plaintiff in that case was absent from court - not unusual given the timing, still weeks away from the start of fall term at Oregon State - and Ayers appeared to be off the hook until now.
The sophomore defensive back from Albuquerque played in 8 games as a true freshman last Fall, and was projected to start at one of the boundary corner positions in Trent Bray’s base defense. Over the summer, Ayers appeared in a disturbing viral TikTok video that drew the ire of the Oregon State student body and campus community. He has been a healthy scratch all season.
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In yesterday’s weekly press conference, Oregon State interim head coach Robb Akey briefly deferred to the university, explaining that “I know that the university has issued a statement and it’s not something that I’ve been able to talk about. So, I’m going to leave it at that”. In parallel, Oregon State officials offered to the Portland Tribune that “The university is aware of the pending charges involving Exodus Ayers, is gathering information and is addressing this with the seriousness and care it warrants”.
Monday afternoon, Ayers pled “not guilty” to all charges at his arraignment, and was released from the Benton County jail on bail. His next court appearance is scheduled for Monday November 10th.
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