ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A New Mexico United player is on suspension while the team investigates allegations of sexual assault from his past. In the past few days, protests have emerged at the University of San Francisco, where New Mexico United’s Manny Padilla used to play, accusing members of the men’s soccer team of repeated rapes and a toxic attitude toward women.

New Mexico United released a statement Tuesday saying they are conducting their own investigation into Padilla’s alleged involvement. In the meantime, he has been suspended from team activities.

READ MORE: NM United releases statement regarding incident at Saturday night’s match

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —

New Mexico United has released a statement regarding an incident involving Colorado Springs FC midfielder Michee Ngalina and a United ball boy.

Ngalina was initially given a red card in Saturday night’s match after forcefully throwing a soccer ball directly at the ball boy.

The USL investigated the incident and as a result, Ngalina was suspended two matches and fined an undisclosed amount in accordance with the league’s Major Game Misconduct policy.

New Mexico United issued a statement on Monday afternoon:

“That kind of action simply can’t happen. Our immediate focus was on the ball manager who was struck. He is doing fine. We’d like to thank the referee who handled this situation perfectly. We think the suspension could and should have been longer, but ultimately punishments in situations like this are the league’s responsibility.”

United’s next match is this Friday on the road at Austin Bold FC. First kick is set for 7 p.m.