Washington suspends Malik Dime indefinitely following fan altercation

The hammer has fallen on Malik Dime, and it has fallen hard.

Washington head coach Lorenzo Romar announced Friday that he has suspended the senior forward indefinitely after Dime was involved in an altercation with a fan Thursday against Colorado, according to Harrison Wind of BSN Denver.

Dime had allegedly slapped a pair of students in Colorado's student section on his way to the locker room at halftime, and he issued a statement coupled with the school's official release.

"I was caught up in the emotion of the game and allowed my frustrations to influence my behavior," Dime said. "I made a very poor decision, and did not represent my team, my university, and my family the way I want to. I am glad I had the chance to apologize in person to the students involved in the altercation, and I am prepared to accept the full consequences of my actions."

Romar looks at the incident as an opportunity for Dime to learn and expects this to be the end of the issue.

"Malik's actions were inconsistent with his typical behavior," Romar said. "They were absolutely unacceptable ... We have spoken with him at length and expect this to be a valuable teaching moment. We do not expect this type of behavior to happen again."

The nature of indefinite suspensions does not shed much light on how much time Huskies fans can expect Dime to miss, but his absence will absolutely be felt in Washington's frontcourt. Dime has been a big presence under the basket, averaging 2.6 blocks per game in just 21.4 minutes.

The Huskies will take to the court Saturday against Utah without Dime in the lineup, and look to improve on their disappointing 9-15 overall record.