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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah football head coach Kyle Whittingham left the door open for the possible reinstatement of dismissed cornerback Dominique Hatfield Friday.
Whittingham released a statement Friday afternoon saying he was pleased the charges were dropped against Hatfield, but that he was undecided whether Hatfield would be reinstated to the team.
"We are relieved that Dominique has been exonerated of the charges against him, but that does not necessarily impact the disciplinary actions we imposed due to a violation of team rules," Whittingham said in a statement. "There is, however, the possibility of future reinstatement to our team if he is able to meet certain expectations we have in place for our student-athletes."
Hatfield was dismissed from the program on July 10 after felony aggravated robbery charges were filed against him. Whittingham is currently away from the state on vacation and was unavailable for further clarification as to his reasoning for dismissing Hatfield before the legal process was concluded.
Prosecutors dropped all charges on Thursday following evidence from a nearby Maverik convenience store indicating that Hatfield was not involved as the "principal" person involved. Hatfield is likely to face potential Class A misdemeanor charges for admitting to selling stolen phones; however, his attorney, Greg Skordas, said he wasn't sure if or when those charges would be filed again.
Skordas told KSL Thursday he hopes the University of Utah gives Hatfield a second chance.
"He lost not only his position on the team, he lost his scholarship," he said. "He's home in California and doesn't have the ability to attend college without that scholarship. I'm hoping someone will take a second look at that decision."
Utah cornerback coach Sharrieff Shah tweeted Thursday he was happy Hatfield would have an opportunity at a second chance.
God, thank you for giving Domo a second chance to make better decisions, to surround himself with good people, and to latch on to those that — Sharrieff Shah (@UteReef33) July 17, 2015
> Truly love him. > > — Sharrieff Shah (@UteReef33) [July 17, 2015](https://twitter.com/UteReef33/status/621838716105928704)
