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AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas football players Kenny Vaccaro, Alex Okafor and Barrett Matthews will not receive game suspensions for a May incident in which they were arrested for refusing to leave a downtown pizza restaurant.

Texas coach Mack Brown said Wednesday the matter is being handled internally and that the trio's punishment is still ongoing.

Vaccaro, Okafor, Matthews and former UT player Eryon Barnett were charged on May 7 with failure to obey, a misdemeanor, after declining a police officer's orders to leave the Roppolo's Pizza restaurant at 316 East 6th Street.

All charges against the three Texas players have been dropped, Brown said, and the seniors are working to regain their status as leaders in the program.

"They are paying hard for really being disrespectful to authority figures," Brown said. "It's our job to make sure we keep the respect of the authority figures we have. Our police department has a difficult job, and if they ask you to leave you should leave, and you should leave quickly."

Vaccaro and Okafor will not be permitted to represent Texas at the Big 12 media days in Dallas on July 24 as planned, but all three players are still eligible to be named captains this season.

"Our captains are voted on at the end of the year by the players, so I think they have to earn that right back," Brown said. "They all three stood up and apologized to the team. They've done everything we've asked them to do. They're remorseful and they didn't feel good about it after it was done."

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Max Olson | email

Reporter, HornsNation

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• Reporter for HornsNation
• Covers Texas Longhorns sports and recruiting
• Joined ESPN in 2012