Kentucky football safety Vito Tisdale dismissed from team for rules violation

Kentucky football senior safety Vito Tisdale has been dismissed from the team for a violation of team rules, the school announced Tuesday.

Tisdale was listed on a roster provided to reporters during an open practice Tuesday that was listed current as of March 20, but he was not present for practice. At 4:31 p.m., UK tweeted from the official team account that Tisdale had been dismissed from the roster and the school would “have no additional comment on the matter.”

A Bowling Green High School graduate, Tisdale missed the entire 2022 season with a torn ACL. Tisdale had participated in the first week of spring practice before the program took a one-week hiatus from practice for the university’s spring break.

“Vito is back,” Kentucky Coach Mark Stoops said after the team’s first of 15 spring practices. “He’s close to full go. He’s out there. He’s not limited. He’s out there and ready to go. We didn’t have pads on today. We’ll see how it goes with whether it gets sore or not. Sometimes you have to be a little bit cautious with knees.”

Tisdale was one of six UK players charged with burglary in August 2021 after a fight at an off-campus fraternity party. Tisdale was also charged with first-degree wanton endangerment because he was alleged to have brandished a gun during the fight, but a grand jury later declined to indict the players on any of the charges. In September, Tisdale and four of the other players charged sued a Lexington police officer alleging he “initiated false charges to frame and defame them.”

In July 2021, Tisdale pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana in response to a July 2 citation resulting from a traffic stop in Bowling Green.

Prior to his injury, Tisdale was considered one of the most promising young defensive talents on Kentucky’s roster after totaling 41 tackles and two tackles for loss in his first two seasons as a Wildcat. Tisdale primarily played nickel back in the Kentucky secondary.

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