Former Boston College tight end CJ Parsons, 22, and former Marist College quarterback Anthony Varrichione, 23, pleaded not guilty to charges of assault and battery causing serious bodily injury and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in connection with the alleged beating of a homeless man on Allston St. on Jan. 26, The Boston Globe reported Wednesday morning.
Parsons and Varrichione, both former players at Xaverian High School in Westwood, were arraigned in Suffolk Superior Court on Wednesday and released on personal recognizance.
The two men allegedly assaulted 50-year-old Michael Hudson past the point of consciousness after an argument broke out around 2 a.m., repeatedly slamming his head into the sidewalk until a woman threw herself onto Hudson’s body.
Parsons, a senior scheduled to graduate from BC this spring, also pleaded not guilty to violating the witness intimidation statute for urging an unidentified individual not to identify him.
BC has taken action against Parsons: “‘In light of these disturbing allegations, Craig Parsons has been issued a summary suspension from Boston College,'” University spokesman Jack Dunn told The Globe in an email. “‘He will have no access to the campus until the matter is resolved.'”
In the 2013 football season, Parsons played in each of the Eagles’ 13 games, recording nine catches for 116 yards and three touchdowns over the course of the season. BC Athletics confirmed that the 6-foot-6, 253-pound tight end had exhausted his eligibility and that his college football career was over before the alleged assault took place.
