Ashton Broyld, a Syracuse commit in its incoming class, appeared in court Wednesday on a charge of public lewdness for his actions following a high school basketball game on March 9. He pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charge, said Monroe County assistant public defender J.B. Afoh-Manin, who is representing Broyld.

‘Our goal is to resolve this case in as fair and expedient way as possible,’ Afoh-Manin said in a phone interview Wednesday evening.

According to an article on Wednesday from the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle’s website, Broyld’s charge stems from his actions after Rush-Henrietta’s men’s basketball team lost a playoff game to Irondequoit on March 9.

‘The complaint states that Broyld dropped his pants, exposed himself and made lewd gestures and remarks after the game,’ according to the article.

Last Saturday, Syracuse held a practice and scrimmage in Rochester, N.Y., at Sahlen’s Stadium. After practice, SU head coach Doug Marrone addressed Broyld’s status. Sue Edson, SU assistant director of athletics for communications, said Wednesday that Marrone’s stance on Broyld has not changed since Saturday.

‘I’ve talked to Ashton,’ Marrone said after Saturday’s practice. ‘I’ve talked to the family, people at the school. We are well aware of the situation. It is a private matter. We expect Ashton, as well as the rest of our signees, who have work ahead of them to do. But we expect all of them to be a part of Syracuse University in the summer.’

Broyld won the New York State Class AA player of the year award in football after helping Rush-Henrietta to a state championship in the Carrier Dome. The quarterback was rated a three-star recruit by Scout.com.

Afoh-Manin said he has been in contact with officials at Syracuse, including Kevin Van Derzee, SU director of football operations.

‘They just want to be kept abreast of the process of the case,’ Afoh-Manin said about SU. ‘I’ve heard positive feedback from the Syracuse University football program.’

According to an article in The Daily Orange published March 29, Broyld apologized for his own actions two weeks ago through a personal statement.

Rush-Henrietta released its own statement after the incident, describing the behavior of an unnamed student as ‘completely unacceptable,’ according to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle article.

Afoh-Manin said the 19-year-old Broyld has no criminal history, and this is the first criminal charge in his life. He said the next step for Broyld will be a pretrial conference, which will take place April 27.

‘We expect this case to be resolved in fair fashion,’ Afoh-Manin said. ‘We’re not looking to seek any personal treatment. We’re just looking for fair treatment for my client.’

mcooperj@syr.edu

Published on March 30, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Mark: mcooperj@syr.edu | @mark_cooperjr