In the wake of the arrest and arraignment of a McGill University football player, the school's administration says it erred in having the player on the team in the first place.
But his lawyer says that statement is "surprising," since his past transgressions occurred three years before he was accepted to the school and he was admitted regardless.
Ollivier Dyens, the Deputy Provost of Student Life and Learning, issued a statement on Friday saying that Luis Guimont-Mota should never "have been invited to join our team."
Guimont-Mota was sentenced to 90 days in jail and 240 hours of community service last year after pleading guilty to assaulting a man outside a Quebec City bar in 2010.
In the statement, Dyens writes that Guimont-Mota's case is not isolated and refers to several other incidents in recent years involving varsity athletes.
As a result McGill's policies will be reviewed.
"The objectives of this review, undertaken by the Office of the Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning), will be to ensure that all rules and regulations are aligned with and reinforce transparent decision-making, accountability and commitment to the values that define the McGill learning environment," wrote Dyens.
In a statement, Guimont-Mota's lawyer said the university has convicted the player before he goes to trial.
It says Guimont-Mota was accepted to McGill in January 2013, and that he was sentenced for the assault two days later.
The school must have been aware that he was facing the charges because they had been "broadcasted in the media at the time."
The statement also says the football player has gotten involved in various causes since 2010, and that in 2012 he met with an educator who judged he was fit to pursue his studies at McGill.
Guimont-Mota was charged Thursday with assault and uttering threats. He has been suspended from McGill's football team pending the outcome of his court case.
