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Rutgers Football Players Arrested, Suspended From Program

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Five Rutgers University football players have been suspended from the program after authorities say they are facing criminal charges in separate cases.

Middlesex County prosecutors allege five football players were involved in various crimes in and around the Rutgers campus.

"I would not expect Rutgers to have this problem at all," said a student.

Authorities say a player and a former player are accused of forcing their way into a home on Hartwell Street armed with a bat and a knife.

Investigators allege in April, the two robbed a student of $900 and an undisclosed amount of marijuana.

The two are accused in another home invasion in May, according to authorities.

"I think it's a little disrespectful to the school in general just because a lot of these students are getting scholarships and stuff to come play so to be involved in something like that like it kind of of lowers the Rutgers' name," said a student.

"I think there's a stigma that a lot of our tuition goes to football players so they should be acting a certain way," said another student.

Rutgers Director of Athletics Julie Hermann released the following statement on Thursday:

"The students involved are currently suspended from our program. We continue to monitor the situation. We will have no further comment as this is a pending legal matter."

In a separate case, authorities say four other players are facing charges in connection to surrounding a group of four people and assaulting them during an incident in April.

One of the alleged victims is a 19-year-old student who suffered a broken jaw, according to authorities.

Authorities say the arrests stem from an active and continuing investigation by the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office and the New Brunswick Police Department.

Rutgers is set to begin their football season Saturday.

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