Louisville CB Tayon Holloway arrested, charged with assault and strangulation

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Louisville football redshirt sophomore defensive back Tayon Holloway was arrested Sunday night, according to Louisville Metro Police Department arrest records.

Holloway was charged with fourth-degree assault with minor injury, a misdemeanor, and first-degree strangulation (related domestic violence), which is a felony.

He has been suspended from the Cardinals indefinitely.

“The University of Louisville is aware of the arrest of football student-athlete Tayon Holloway,” the university said in a statement. “As we gather more information, Tayon has been suspended indefinitely from all team activities.”

According to the police report obtained by Louisville Cardinals at SIofficers were dispatched to the Province Apartments near the UofL campus around 1 p.m. 9:00 p.m. Sunday night on a call for service on a 911 hang up. While all parties inside the apartment were “uncooperative,” they consented for officers to search.

A responding officer noted that the victim, referred to in the report as Holloway’s girlfriend, had “a gash on her upper lip” and “swollen eyes, “commonly associated with crying.” According to the report, the victim stated that Holloway was in her room preparing to smoking marijuana, when she grabbed the marijuana, Holloway “became angry and physical.”

The victim stated that Holloway “threw her off the bed and onto the ground and began punching her in the face with a closed fist.” The victim then grabbed a nearby lamp in an attempt to protect herself, and after that failed, Holloway “took a pillow and put it over her face” for about 10 seconds.

According to the report, after Holloway removed the pillow, he “began to throw her out of the room and began pushing and shoving her” toward the apartment’s exit. During this, the victim also used a mirror to protect himself, which was destroyed in the process.

The report also noted that linebacker Jurriente Davis was a witness. Holloway was later arraigned Monday and pleaded not guilty to the charges. His bond was set at $10,000 with a no-contact order.

The 6-foot-1, 190-pound cornerback has been a key part of Louisville’s secondary this season. Playing in all 10 games while making three starts, Holloway is third on the team in pass breakups with six, while also tallying 16 tackles, two for loss and a sack.

Last week at Stanford, Holloway played an unfortunate role in Louisville’s stunning 38-35 loss. On the first play of Stanford’s final drive, Holloway was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct on a short throw with just four seconds left in the game. This, combined with a subsequent offside penalty by Quincy Riley, allowed Stanford to get into better position to kick the game-winning 52-yard field goal.

The native of Virginia Beach, Va. joined Louisville last season after spending his first two years in college at North Carolina. After redshirting his true freshman campaign in 2022, Holloway played in 10 total games with six starts for the Tar Heels in 2023, tallying 19 tackles, 1.5 for loss and a pass breakup.

(Photo by Tayon Holloway: Eric Canha – Imagn Images)

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