The 20-year-old sophomore was charged with two counts of first-degree assault and was being held Sunday night in the Calloway County Jail.
Police arrested Jackson around 4 pm following an altercation in the Murray Wal-Mart parking lot where he hit two people with his white Monte Carlo, causing minor injuries.
Jackson appeared in court Monday morning, where the judge reduced each of Jackson's two counts of 1st degree assault to 2nd degree assault. Jackson's bond was also lowered from $20,000 to $15,000. He remains in jail.
Jackson is scheduled for a preliminary hearing September 26 at 9:30 am.
Jackson was a reserve who averaged 4.9 points, 2.3 assists and 2.1 rebounds as a freshman. He was projected to start this year for Murray State, which went 31-2 and beat Colorado State in its NCAA tournament opener last March. The Racers lost to Marquette in the next round.
Murray State Athletics released the following statements Monday regarding Jackson.
Statement on Zay Jackson from Head Coach Steve Prohm:
“I was disappointed and surprised to learn of the incident on Sunday involving Zay. I will continue to work with the authorities to gather and evaluate the facts as quickly as I can to get a clearer picture of what actually happened. Until that time, Zay has been suspended from all team activities. There is a standard of conduct I expect from all my players, and from what I know at this point, that standard was compromised. I will support Zay in his efforts to make this right, but I anticipate this matter will take time to fully resolve."
Statement on Zay Jackson from Director of Athletics Allen Ward:
“The department takes matters such as this very seriously. I fully support the manner in which Coach Prohm has handled the incident and the action he has taken on Zay’s involvement with the team. We will continue to monitor the matter closely and make decisions accordingly as additional facts are presented. I deeply regret any embarrassment this has caused the university."
