Idaho St. coach benched for pushing player

Idaho State football Coach Mike Kramer has been suspended for one game for pushing wide receiver Derek Graves to the turf, the school said Tuesday. Kramer also was issued a letter of reprimand for violating the Big Sky Conference school's conduct policy. Idaho State Athletics Director Jeff Tiney said the second-year coach will miss Saturday's game at Montana. Associate coach Don Bailey will serve as acting coach for the game. Police are still investigating the pushing incident, which occurred during practice Oct. 3. ESPN recently aired video showing Kramer apparently running across the field and shoving the senior player in the chest, sending him to the ground. Graves said he has had neck spasms since the incident. He filed a police report and hired an attorney, school officials said. It's not Kramer's first incident involving a player. In 1995, when he was at Eastern Washington, a player accused him of slapping him. No charges were brought in that case. In 2007, he was fired by Montana State after five players were arrested within a year. He sued the school and later settled with neither side admitting fault.