GAINESVILLE - University of Florida wide receiver Chris Rainey was charged with aggravated stalking early today after police said he sent a threatening text to a woman he had dated.
Rainey, a redshirt junior from Lakeland, was taken to Alachua County jail and later released on his own recognizance after the woman told a judge the incident was a misunderstanding and asked for the charges to be dropped.
According to Gainesville police, Rainey sent her a text that read, "Time to die,'' after visiting her home and being told to leave.
Rainey's status with the team was not immediately clear.
"Chris Rainey is not a part of our team right now. That's really all I have to say on that," UF offensive coordinator Steve Addazio said.
Rainey made his initial court appearance this morning, and the woman, Kelley Anderson, asked for the charges to be dropped.
"I did not want to have him arrested last (Monday) night. When the police came, I signed papers to not press any charges," Anderson said during the court appearance. "I don't fear for my safety. I think he should be released on his own recognizance."
Anderson and Rainey have a relationship that dates back several years.
Her sister, Lauren Anderson, said she called police to defuse a situation. Lauren Anderson said she told police when she called, "This is not an emergency."
Rainey was ordered to not have contact with Anderson and was given a curfew of 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. except for school- or work-related issues.
Kelley Anderson said she was more concerned about retribution from the public and said the incident was being blown up in the media. She said she has already received threatening calls on her cell phone.
Officer Jesse Bostick said the incident started when Anderson fell asleep and missed a call from Rainey. Rainey went to her home, they talked and she told him to leave. The woman got the text a short time later, Bostick said.
The charge is a third-degree felony.
Gainesville State Attorney Bill Cervone said no immediate action will be taken.
"We will look at the case and the circumstances involved and make a decision as to what charges, if any, are appropriate to pursue as quickly as possible, but no decision is going to be made this week," Cervone told Florida Today.
Rainey suffered a concussion in Saturday's 38-14 win against South Florida, but Gators coach Urban Meyer said Monday he expected Rainey to play in this weekend's game at Tennessee.
Rainey, who attended Lakeland High School, came into the season with 1,237 career rushing yards but was moved to receiver to help make up for the departure of most of UF's top receivers from a year ago.
Rainey had a team-high six catches for 34 yards in the season-opening 34-12 win against Miami (Ohio) but left the USF game with just one rush for 15 yards.
