Virginia RB Solomon Beebe Charged With Animal Cruelty. He Needs to Be Off the Team Now
Virginia running back Solomon Beebe was arrested Monday on three Class 1 misdemeanor charges of animal cruelty, according to 247Sports. The 5’10, 199-pound junior appeared in Albemarle County District Court on Thursday and was released on unsecured bond.
The details are stomach-turning.
The charges stem from alleged incidents on August 10 and August 12 involving his pit bull, Jeb. A housekeeper at Beebe’s apartment complex, the Maximilian at Stonefield, reported seeing him punch the dog. According to animal control officer Justin Gibson, the witness said Beebe held the dog against a wall and struck it multiple times with a closed fist while the animal yelped in pain.
The dog was seized on August 13 and is now in the custody of the local SPCA.
Virginia’s response so far has been the standard boilerplate about not commenting on ongoing criminal matters. Coach Tony Elliott has not clarified Beebe’s status. The season opener against NC State is on August 29. The program has eight days to figure this out, and there is only one right answer.
Beebe needs to be off the team.
Not suspended pending investigation. Not sidelined for the opener while everyone waits for a plea deal. Off the team. If a housekeeper watched you beat your dog with a closed fist and reported it, and an animal control officer took the pet away three days later, you do not get to represent a university on Saturdays.
College football has a bad habit of hiding behind due process when it is convenient and moving swiftly when it is not. Coaches will cut a player without hesitation for a missed workout or a tweet, then hem and haw when the accusation is something serious. That reflex is what makes fans stop trusting programs to police themselves.
These are misdemeanor charges, but the alleged conduct is disqualifying on its own. This is not a legal question. It is a values question.
The football context matters here too, because Elliott’s staff should not be tempted to weigh Beebe’s on-field usefulness against the moral cost. He barely provides any. Beebe transferred to Virginia from UAB in January after producing 338 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 56 carries as a Blazer in 2025, along with 284 receiving yards on 31 catches. He is a rotation piece. There is no world where keeping him for depth is worth the reputational damage.
Tony Elliott has spent his entire tenure trying to rebuild the culture in Charlottesville after the tragedy that shattered this program a few years ago. He talks constantly about character and community. That work does not survive keeping a player on the roster who is credibly accused of beating his dog against a wall.
The right move is to release Beebe today, let him deal with his charges as a private citizen, and get help for the dog. If Beebe fights the charges and is fully cleared later, everyone can revisit. Until then, a Virginia jersey should be off the table.
Programs get judged on the easy calls. This is one of them. Make it.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
