Alabama Shows Better PR Sense With Kalen DeBoer Statement On Ex-Player's Rape Charges

It was a day or two late, but new Alabama football coach Kalen DeBoer apparently knows Damage Control 101 better than some at the University of Alabama. Or Alabama is learning from past mistakes.

READ: Washington's Tybo Rogers Arrested On Rape Charges

Washington running back Tybo Rogers, who played for DeBoer last season when DeBoer was the Washington Huskies' head coach, was arrested in Seattle on Tuesday on one count of second-degree rape and another count of third-degree rape that allegedly happened last October and November in Seattle. Washington immediately suspended Rogers indefinitely from all team activities.

At the time of the accusations last November, though, DeBoer kept Rogers, 18, on the team, other than a suspension for the Pac-12 championship game on Dec. 1. It is not clear why DeBoer suspended Rogers for that game. He played in 12 other games before and after the accusations surfaced. That included the Huskies' victory over Texas in the College Football Playoff semifinal in New Orleans and in the CFP national championship game loss to Michigan in Houston.

Alabama football coach Kalen DeBoer fires up the crowd at an Alabama basketball game at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa shortly after being introduced as coach. (Getty Images)

"While I am not able to comment specifically on the situation involving an individual at my former institution because of federal privacy laws and the ongoing criminal matters, I do want to make it clear that I take any allegation of sexual misconduct very seriously," DeBoer said in a statement released by Alabama's football communications department on Thursday.

"I always have and always will follow established institutional policies and procedures to ensure prompt reporting and