A University of Georgia instructor says linebacker Tavares Kearney twisted her wrist after she confiscated his camera cell phone because she suspected him of using the device to cheat on a nutrition exam.

A battery charge instructor Dawn Penn filed against Kearney was dropped Wednesday, but the freshman player could still face school discipline for the incident, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Friday.

Penn said she took the phone from Kearney after he apparently took a photo image of an answer key to a version of a test he was taking July 15, according to a police incident report. The answer key had been accidentally distributed to the class earlier and the instructor had asked for them to be passed back to her.

After the teacher took the phone, Kearney asked for it back. When Penn refused, the 6-foot-1, 210-pound Kearney allegedly grabbed the woman's left hand, which was holding the phone, squeezed it and twisted her wrist.

Penn, a 27-year-old graduate student overseeing the exam, said she did not want to pursue criminal charges against Kearney, but she is pursuing an academic honesty investigation of the player.

Kearney has since withdrawn from the course and has returned to his home in Atlanta, a school spokesman said.

His football eligibility is uncertain pending the outcome of the university inquiry.
"It's my intent to withhold comment until that process has been exercised," coach Mark Richt said.

If Kearney is unable to compete for Georgia this fall, he'll become the seventh member of the 19-player incoming class to miss the season. Five others did not meet academic requirements and a sixth, Antavious Coates, suffered a season-ending knee injury this summer.

Three returning players have been suspended for the season opener against Boise State following offseason arrests. A fourth, Derrick White, was kicked off the team after being arrested on a DUI charge. And junior fullback Des Williams is out for the season after tearing a chest muscle.