Vanderbilt basketball's Jerry Stackhouse taking Lee Dort's felony arrest 'really serious'

Vanderbilt basketball coach Jerry Stackhouse said Wednesday that he takes the aggravated assault arrest of Lee Dort seriously and confirmed that the forward has been suspended indefinitely from the program.

Dort, a sophomore, continues to take classes at the university but remains away from the team, Stackhouse said. There are two separate processes, one through the judicial system — he was arrested early Sunday morning on a felony charge of aggravated assault by strangulation — and one through the university.

Dort allegedly shoved his ex-girlfriend against a wall and gripped her neck in a campus dorm room.

"That's something we take really serious around here and those are some serious allegations," Stackhouse said. "Once we were made aware of those allegations, we decided to suspend him indefinitely. . . . I have talked to him. He's back, he's still in class, he's still participating, just away from the team."

Stackhouse got a call the night the incident happened, notifying him that Dort had been in an altercation, and Stackhouse discussed the situation with athletic director Candice Lee. The program released a statement Sunday evening that said Dort had been suspended.

MORE ON DORT Vanderbilt basketball's Lee Dort arrested on aggravated assault by strangulation charge

Stackhouse said that after Dort's arrest, he gathered the players to talk to them about making good decisions.

"One decision can have some negative effects across the board," he said. " . . . Everything isn't about basketball to me."

Vanderbilt fell to Boston College on Wednesday 80-62 in the ACC/SEC Challenge.

"It hasn't been easy on any of us over these last couple of days," Stackhouse said. "But we will find a way to get through it together."

Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on Twitter @aria_gerson.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt basketball's Jerry Stackhouse 'really serious' on Lee Dort arrest