Notre Dame wide receiver Javon McKinley arrested, accused of punching officers

Javon McKinley, a reserve wide receiver at Notre Dame, was charged Monday with three misdemeanors, including two Class A counts of battery, after being arrested by campus police early Sunday.

According to the probable cause affidavit filed in St. Joseph County Superior Court, McKinley, 20, punched two University of Notre Dame security police officers: Adis Ibrekic and Lt. Laurie Steffen. The officers tried to help McKinley to his dorm, according to the affidavit, after he was found unresponsive in the back seat of an Uber vehicle shortly before 4 a.m.

McKinley, 6-2 and 215 pounds, reportedly "required a series of (sternum) rubs to regain consciousness" and began walking to his dorm with the officers' assistance. He then stopped walking, at which point the officers reportedly said they could smell alcohol on his breath.

According to the report, McKinley, "unsteady on his feet," then "tensed up" and tried to leave in the opposite direction of his dorm. Officers were concerned about McKinley "trying to wander off onto campus in his condition."

As the officers attempted to restrain McKinley, he reportedly punched both officers "in a rude, insolent or angry manner," causing pain.

McKinley was later restrained with the help of Notre Dame firefighters and was booked into the St. Joseph County Jail, where he remained until Monday afternoon. According to court documents, results of a breathalyzer test administered to McKinley at the jail were consistent with the consumption of alcohol.

McKinley, who also faces a Class C misdemeanor count of illegal consumption of alcohol, has a Feb. 28 court date. He was released on $250 bond. 

“The incident is being handled by the criminal justice system,” Notre Dame spokesperson Dennis Brown said in a statement. “As for internal discipline, we do not publicly discuss specific cases and impose sanctions as warranted.”

A redshirt sophomore from Corona, Calif., McKinley played in six games as a freshman in 2016 before suffering a broken left fibula in practice. A four-star recruit and consensus Top 100 prospect in national rankings, McKinley missed the entire 2017 season.

Last fall, he appeared in four games but had no receptions or carries. He saw action in the final two regular-season games but did not play in the Cotton Bowl national semifinal against Clemson.