A McGill Redmen football player charged Thursday with assault and uttering threats says he is the victim in the apparent domestic abuse case.
Montreal police arrested Luis Guimont-Mota, 22, at an apartment on Jeanne Mance St. Wednesday evening where he lives with his 21-year-old wife, Stephanie Faucher, who is the alleged victim.
Guimont-Mota was formally charged Thursday afternoon but following the court proceedings, his lawyer told reporters his client is not the aggressor in the case. He is pleading not guilty.
"My client is a victim. The supposed victim admitted to her mother that she hit him," said defence lawyer Steve Hanafi.
McGill University issued a statement late Wednesday saying Guimont-Mota suspended until his court case was resolved.
Hanafi said McGill's decision to suspend his client is uncalled for under the circumstances, and that they plan to challenge it.
"I don't agree with this decision, I think they acted too fast just to protect their image. They don't know the facts and acted too fast," he said.
Last year, Guimont-Mota was awarded the Dan Pronyk Memorial Trophy, given to McGill football's most outstanding offensive player.
Also last year, he was sentenced to 90 days of intermittent jail time and 240 hours of community service after pleading guilty to assaulting a man outside a Quebec City bar in 2010.
To avoid affecting his football career, the judge allowed him to serve his sentence on Sundays so that he could participate in training and games on Saturdays.
Guimont-Mota was also recently among eight Quebec university athletes to receive $1,500 scholarships from the Montreal Alouettes Bursary Program.
He was ordered to move out of their apartment Thursday and released on $1,000 bail. His next court date is Feb. 23, 2015.
