Baylor associate athletic director Heath Nielsen charged with assaulting reporter

A Baylor athletic department official has been placed on an indefinite leave of absence, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, after he was arrested on a misdemeanor charge stemming from an incident with a reporter after a football game.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

Police charged Heath Nielsen, Baylor’s associate athletic director for communications, after James McBride, a reporter from the Keller, Texas-based Texas Blaze News, told authorities that Nielsen assaulted him Nov. 5 after the Bears' 62-22 loss to TCU in Waco, Texas. According to Waco TV station KWTX, McBride said he was attempting to take a photograph with a Baylor football player when Nielsen grabbed him by the throat and pushed him away, saying McBride was breaking the school’s rules against conducting interviews on the field after games.

Nielsen, who was placed on the leave of absence shortly after the alleged incident, was arrested Nov. 8.

The university said in a statement that it was made aware of the incident involving Nielsen "shortly after the game and took immediate action to address it with him through the University's human resources process.  We will continue to handle this personnel matter internally."

A statement from Nielsen's attorney challenged the account of events.

"Shortly after the Baylor vs. TCU football game on November 5th, Heath intervened when he noticed a man attempting to do an unauthorized interview of a student-athlete on the field," Michelle Simpson Tuegel said in a statement. "The one-sided version of events released by the complainant are not true or accurate. Mr. Nielsen maintains that he intervened to stop the interview, but he did not grab the complainant’s throat. We look forward to vigorously defending Mr. Nielsen and presenting the facts involved in this situation."