After a recent video surfaced on Twitter and the rest of social media of Missouri Tigers quarterback Maty Mauk snorting a white powdery substance; most likely cocaine, Mauk has been dismissed from Mizzou's football team.

Head coach Barry Odom said in a statement that Mauk has been dismissed for a violation of team rules, but not because of the video. Odom said Mauk's "failure to live up to expectations in recent weeks"  and not the video was the reason for the his dismissal. 

Mauk was originally suspended after the teams game against the Kentucky Wildcats for a violation of team rules, shortly after the game on September 26, 2015. Then, just less than a week from being reinstated to the team, the former Mizzou head coach Gary Pinkel suspended Mauk for the rest of the season on November 1, 2015 for Mauk's involvement in a dispute outside of a bar in Columbia, Missouri. 

The video of Mauk was posted to Twitter on Monday and it shows him clearly snorting some form of powder, which most suspect to be cocaine, as Mauk did struggle with a drug problem early on in his career at Mizzou. Missouri linebacker Michael Scherer posted tweets that were supposed to be sent as text messages, saying that the video that was all over social media is over two years old and that Mauk has since fixed his drug problem.

Newly appointed head coach Barry Odom stated that he met with Mauk back in December and gave Mauk a fresh start and authorized him to participate in team related activities.

Odom originally suspended Mauk after the video appeared on social media. Odom then said today that, "I met with Maty Mauk this morning and informed him of my decision to permanently dismiss him from the football program. When I met with Maty back in December, I wanted to give him an opportunity for a fresh start, but I also made it very clear what our expectations would be moving forward. After gathering information and speaking with a number of individuals this week, it is clear Maty has failed to live up to those expectations by violating team rules in recent weeks."

Later in the day, Mauk posted a handwritten letter to Twitter that stated:

"It is with a heavy heart that I come to term with the fact that I will not be a part of this great University of Missouri athletic organization. There are no words to describe my disappointment. While I cannot provide you with specifics about my future, there is one thing that I am very sure of - How incredibly thankful I am for this overwhelming support I have felt from the athletic department, the coaches, academics, my teammates, and most of all from the fans. I will and cannot tell you tell you how much this support has meant to me and how thankful I am. Please know that my intent was never to bring any harm to the university or football program. I will continue to make myself the best I can be. I wish the Mizzou football program the best."

Mauk had a 17-5 record as a starter at Mizzou over three seasons, along with 4,373 passing yards and 46 total touchdowns. With Mauk no longer on the team, soon to be sophomore quarterback Drew Lock is the front runner for the starting job next year, as he started all the games while Mauk was suspended during the 2015 season. 

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Jeremy Bowen
Writer on the St. Louis Rams. Also occasionally talking about other sports going on in the St. Louis area.