TCU has rescinded the Star-Telegram’s credentials to cover Horned Frogs athletics over the newspaper’s coverage of an Aug. 13 locker room assault that led to the dismissal of senior safety Jacob Fields from the football team.
In a phone conversation Sunday, a TCU athletics spokesman said the Star-Telegram’s credentials were being pulled because the coverage resulted in threats to the victim. The Star-Telegram did not identify the player, junior wide receiver Dozie Ezukanma, until three days after the initial report, when he identified himself in a now-deleted Instagram video.
“Our primary focus is the health and wellbeing of our student athlete,” TCU athletic director Mike Buddie said in a statement Tuesday. “Unfortunately, an unnamed source without first-hand knowledge of the incident provided inaccurate information cited in initial reporting by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, which we strongly disputed.
“The inclusion of the misinformation advanced a narrative that endangered a student-athlete and resulted in threats to him and his family. These actions led to the decision to withhold the media credential until additional conversation can be held between athletics and the sports reporting team. We remain dedicated to restoring our student to health as well as focusing on the game that’s ahead.”
Teams issue credentials to allow media members access to the press box, locker room, news conferences and media workrooms.
TCU officials have not defined what criteria would need to be met to restore the credentials.
More: TCU locker room altercation
Jacob Fields timeline of events
Fields was dismissed from the team Aug. 18 “due to a violation of team rules,” a TCU spokesman said in a statement.
Later that evening, the Star-Telegram reported that the dismissal came after an altercation in the locker room five days earlier.
In that article, a source close to Fields said the player “felt targeted by teammates with insults and threats” leading up to the altercation and that TCU coaches made “no attempts to de-escalate the brewing tension.”
TCU coach Sonny Dykes declined to comment for that story, as did athletics spokesperson Kyle Neaves. TCU officials disputed the source’s account of what led to the attack in conversations with the Star-Telegram, but they have declined to provide the university’s version of events for publication.
Three days after the initial story, a person close to Fields authorized to speak for Fields and his family clarified the player’s view of the lead-up to the altercation.
“The new source offered different context, including Fields and his family’s belief that he didn’t face bullying or mistreatment leading up to the incident,” the Star-Telegram reported. “Instead, the source attributes Fields’ actions to tensions brewing from competitive football and some questionable plays in practice.”
That same day, Ezukanma offered his version of events in a now-deleted Instagram post. He said Fields hit him from behind, and a man who appeared in the video with Ezukanma said the receiver was knocked unconscious when his head hit the ground.
“How you gon’ sucker punch me, bro. That’s your teammate,” Ezukanma said in the video.
TCU general manager Ryan Dorchester called TCU campus police the next day, Aug. 14, according to the police report.
Credentials pulled for Ireland game
TCU opens the season against North Carolina on Saturday in Dublin, Ireland. TCU beat writer Steven Johnson will travel to the game, dubbed the Aer Lingus College Football Classic.
“As the home team, TCU has oversight of U.S. media credentials and reserves the right to determine who is credentialed for the game,” an Aer Lingus Classic spokesperson said via email. “Steven Johnson’s credentials have been revoked.”
The Star-Telegram is the only media outlet that covers TCU athletics on a full-time basis, including photographers and columnists. In the past year, the Star-Telegram has sent Johnson to cover TCU football in Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Tempe, Arizona; Morgantown, West Virginia; and Provo, Utah. He also covered TCU men’s and women’s basketball in the NCAA Tournament in Greenville, South Carolina, and Sacramento, California.
This story was originally published August 26, 2026 at 11:02 AM.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Jim Barnes is the Star-Telegram’s sports editor. A Fort Worth native and graduate of Castleberry High School, he returned to Texas after 13 years at the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He previously was sports editor of the Waco Tribune-Herald and a freelance high school sports reporter for The Dallas Morning News.