Accusations on Instagram Lead to Dismissal of Arkansas Quarterback

Claims by multiple women extend between two SEC campuses

Author:
Kent Smith
Publish date:
May 25, 2023 9:45 PM EDT

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — In response to numerous allegations of sexual assault and abuse by several women posted on an Instagram account, the University of Arkansas released a statement announcing that a student-athlete from the Razorback football team has been dismissed from the team.

Anyone who has been on social media knows the student-athlete in question is reserve quarterback Kade Renfro, a transfer from Ole Miss who arrived in Fayetteville at the beginning of 2021. An Instagram account named @kaderenfroabuse caught the attention of Arkansas fans Wednesday night as it compiled graphic allegations of abuse by Renfro, including multiple posts with photos claimed to depict bruises and large cuts on the bodies of his accusers

Several of those posts included @razorbackfb and @uarkansas to ensure officials within the university and athletic department were aware of the allegations as they were being made. They also included accusations from Renfro's time at Ole Miss and a message from the quarterback's mother to one of his accusers. By Thursday morning, Twitter was full of fans reacting, including numerous posts calling for action tweeted toward Arkansas athletics director Hunter Yurachek. Those notifications triggered an initiation of a Title IX investigation and the removal of Renfro from the team. It also prompted the releases at the end of the business day.

University of Arkansas Release

"After being made aware of the allegations, we notified the relevant offices on our campus. Due to FERPA student privacy regulations, we are unable to provide more information at this time."

Arkansas Athletics Release

"Upon gaining knowledge of the allegations against a student athlete earlier this week, we immediately informed the University's Title IX office of the allegations. The student-athlete is no longer a member of the football team."

All of Renfro's social media has been deleted.

Renfro originally committed to the University of North Texas during his senior season at Stephenville High School in Texas under the tutelage of Sterling Doty, a former player for Art Briles in both high school at Stephenville in the late '90s and at Houston when the Briles offense took the college world by storm. That offensive prowess trickled down to Doty as the prolific Yellowjacket offense allowed Renfro to throw for 2,372 yards and 17 touchdowns.

However, the North Texas commitment wouldn't hold. Renfro backed off, instead opting to venture down another branch of the Briles family tree by agreeing to play for Briles' son-in-law, offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby, at Ole Miss. The quarterback lasted only one year in Oxford before leaving the program to walk on at Arkansas. There, he joined yet another branch of the Briles coaching tree with Briles' son, Kendal, serving as offensive coordinator.

Unless Renfro finds a new team willing to take him on, his college career will conclude without having recorded any measurable stats as a quarterback.