Report: Iowa women’s basketball player Emely Rodriguez is ‘suspended indefinitely’

IOWA CITY — According to a report from On3’s Talia Goodman, Iowa women’s basketball player Emely Rodriguez is “currently on an indefinite suspension due to a team violation of rules.”

The report said that Rodriguez — a sophomore from the Dominican Republic and a transfer from Central Florida — “has the opportunity to rejoin the team if she recommits to the standards.”

The Gazette contacted University of Iowa sports information Thursday afternoon. The response:

“We will use the Big Ten’s availability report Saturday morning to determine a player’s status for the UConn game,” and that an official statement on Rodriguez was not expected today.

The 11th-ranked Hawkeyes (10-1) face No. 1 UConn (11-0) at noon (CT) Saturday at the Barclays Center, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Goodman’s report, if true, would bring clarity to the Rodriguez situation, which has been a mystery for the better part of a month.

A solid member of Iowa’s rotation through the first five games of the season (she was averaging 8.6 points per game in that span, Rodriguez’s floor time sank to 4 minutes in the Miami (Fla.) game Nov. 22.

She hasn’t played since.

Iowa Coach Jan Jensen said in her press conference Tuesday that Rodriguez remained a member of the team “as of now, yeah.”

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com