November 10, 2004

Northern Illinois TB Garrett Wolfe Apologizes To Teammates, Coaches & Fans Over Incident

DeKALB, IL --- A review of an off-campus incident involving Northern Illinois University sophomore tailback Garrett Wolfe indicated no malfeasance on his part, except, possibly, for a lack of better judgment.

Wolfe (Chicago / River Grove Holy Cross) met with Huskie head football coach Joe Novak and the team’s 2004 senior quad-captains---linebacker Brian Atkinson, quarterback Josh Haldi, free safety Lionel Hickenbottom, and offensive tackle Jake VerStraete---on Wednesday (November 10) to discuss his version of a minor incident that became a national media story Tuesday during the telecast of the Northern Illinois-Toledo game on ESPN2.

“First of all, I want to apologize to everyone---our fans, my teammates and coaches, my family, and anyone who has worn the Northern Illinois football uniform---for the embarrassment and all the negative attention that I may have brought to the university,” Wolfe said. “More importantly, I’m sorry that the incident took away from our team, our game against Toledo, and our seniors because it was their last home game. Coach Novak has often told us about being in the right place at the right time. If I was not at that establishment this past weekend, then this would not be an issue.”

The 5-foot-7, 174-pound tailback was withheld from the Toledo game due to a right eye injury. Doctors advised no activity for Wolfe until next week. The condition---called hyphema---involves traumitized blood vessels and possible bleeding inside the eyeball. Wolfe was injured in an attempt to settle a dispute Saturday (November 6) night. According to NIU head athletics trainer Phil Voorhis, the earliest Wolfe could resume practice might be early next week. His situation will be reviewed on a daily basis by Voorhis and Dr. Thomas Tilton of the Hauser-Ross Eye Institute in Sycamore. Northern Illinois concludes its regular-season schedule at Eastern Michigan University on November 20.

“The whole thing was blown out of proportion,” Novak said. “If Garrett is guilty of anything, then it would be a lack of good judgment. Basically, he was trying to be a peace-maker in a fight and got sucker-punched. He was not charged and there was no alcohol involved. We have talked to the police about this. While Garrett did not violate any team rules, it was disappointing that he made such a mistake. We left it up to the team captains and they expressed great confidence in Garrett’s character. Our captains told me that Garrett would be the last person to be involved in a fight. My main concern right now is our team and preparing for Eastern Michigan.”

Wolfe had tied a school single-season record with six consecutive 100-yard rushing games and led the Huskies in scoring, rushing (1,247 yards), and all-purpose yardage (1,579).

(For further information, please contact Mike Korcek) -NIU-