In response to the assault charges made against Ole Miss head basketball coach Andy Kennedy in Cincinnati, Ohio, Thursday morning, Athletics Director Pete Boone and Coach Kennedy issued the following statements:

“Clearly, this is an unfortunate situation. However, after a full discussion with Andy Kennedy and his staff, who were with him, I have the utmost confidence that once all the facts are known, Coach Kennedy will be cleared of all charges,” said Boone, who is with the team.

“I regret this situation,” Kennedy said. “The focus should be on the players and the game, not on me. I vehemently deny the charges levied against me, and am completely confident that I will be fully exonerated of all charges.”

Coach Kennedy will continue his coaching duties. The Rebels are scheduled to play Louisville tonight at 8 p.m. on ESPN in the SEC-Big East Challenge.

The complaint filed in Municipal Court alleges that Kennedy assaulted Mohammed Ould Jiddou and “punched victim with a closed fist while shouting racial slurs.” Kennedy was arrested at 1:15 a.m., police documents show. Police also arrested Bill Armstrong, director of operations for the basketball team.

Jiddou, a 25-year-old native of the northwest Africa country of Mauritania, replied: “Good” when asked how we was doing Thursday afternoon. But he declined to answer any other questions when reached at his home in northern Kentucky.

Rusty O’Brien, a Louisville, Ky., attorney, said Jiddou told him Kennedy called him “Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein.” He said Kennedy became upset when the driver refused to allow five passengers into his taxi.

O’Brien said Jiddou is a legal permanent resident of the United States and has been in the country for several years. He planned to meet Thursday with Jiddou to discuss the case.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.