ISU men’s basketball player Chris Alexander has been suspended indefinitely from the ISU men’s basketball program for a violation of team rules, according to a statement released Monday by the ISU Athletic Department.

The suspension resulted from a fight at a local bar involving Alexander during the weekend.

Cmdr. Jim Robinson of the Ames Police Department said police learned at about 1:40 a.m. Sunday of a fight at Sips, 126 Welch Ave.

Upon arrival, police found a man being held down by four other people. The individual was identified as Alexander.

Robinson said a fight broke out on the dance floor and employees attempted to get the man to leave. The man is suspected of striking and injuring a Sips employee following the fight.

A representative from Sips declined to comment.

Robinson said Alexander was charged with serious assault, which is a serious misdemeanor. He faces one year in jail time and/or a $1,500 fine if convicted.

Alexander was brought to the Ames Police Department and later released on his own recognizance.

ISU head basketball coach Larry Eustachy did not comment on the issue in the statement, but did comment on Alexander’s situation in a press conference last Tuesday.

“Alexander, to be honest, has struggled,” Eustachy said. “He has had personal problems back home, so he had to go back home a couple of times. He is behind in school, he struggles to repeat the daily process that it takes to be a student athlete. It’s not just him — it’s circumstances outside, personal circumstances that make it difficult,” Eustachy said.

Alexander, junior in sociology, was considered one of the top centers in junior college and helped lead Indian Hills Community College to the Region 11 title and a fourth-place national tournament finish as a freshman. He was later plagued by injury.

Alexander did not return phone calls seeking comment.

— Emily Arthur contributed to this story.