Friday afternoon, Penn State athletics issues a short statement:
"Chris Bell and Phillip Taylor are not participating with the team until such time that their academic situation improves and any off-the-field issues are behind them."
The team, in this instance, is the Penn State football team.
FightOnState.com first reported the suspensions on its premium message board Thursday afternoon. At the time, a representative of the athletic department said he had no knowledge of the situation.
Sources have told FOS that the suspensions likely are not permanent.
While the PSU release is vague, Centre County prosecutors have suggested both players may have been involved in an October brawl at the HUB that resulted in the arrests of Nittany Lions Chris Baker, Navorro Bowman and Knowledge Timmons.
Baker and Bowman have been bound over for trial on felony assault charges in connection to the fight. Timmons faced lesser charges.
Bell is a backup receiver for the Lions. Taylor was a mainstay at defensive tackle for the team last season.