Wake Forest's Tony Woods arrested after fracturing a woman's spine

Tony Woods is slated to be the starting center for what could be a very good Wake Forest team.

But the 6'11", 20 year old junior may be facing a change of plans pending the outcome of an investigation into his Labor Day activities.

According to a report from WXII, Woods has been arrested:

[He] was arrested and charged Monday with three crimes: assault while inflicting serious injury, assault on a female and assault while inflicting serious injuries with a minor present.

Arrest warrants show that Woods kicked and pushed a woman who he lives with in the presence of his one-year-old child. The woman suffered a fractured spine, the warrant says.

According to the warrant, Woods hadn't been drinking when the incident happened.

Tony Woods was arrested over Labor Day weekend.
(photo credit: Eastbay)

This is bad news for all involved. For starters, Woods -- if found guilty -- should be punished harshly by Wake Forest head coach Jeff Bzdelikz. Not only did he hit a woman, he hit a woman hard enough to fracture her spine, and he did it in front of his one-year old child. That is, in a word, inexcusable.

If Woods does miss some time, it is a huge blow to the Demon Deacons team. Over the last two years, Wake has lost much of their front court. Woods, who has played fairly limited minutes in his career, is by far the most experienced front court player on the roster. Ty Walker is a junior that has barely seen the court, while Carson Desrosiers, Travis McKie, and Melvin Tabb are freshmen.

"We are still in the process of gathering facts regarding this incident," Wake Forest Athletics Director Ron Wellman said. "We will cooperate with the campus and local authorities as they investigate this incident. Wake Forest University and the athletics department have policies and protocols regarding these matters and those will be followed."

Jeff Bzdelik is currently out of town recruiting.

Woods isn't even the most well-known college hoopster that has been charged with domestic violence this offseason. UNLV's Tre'Von Willis is facing similar charges stemming from an incident back in June.