STILLWATER, Okla. -- Oklahoma State suspended starting

forward Darrell Williams on Monday after he was charged with four

felony counts alleging he inappropriately touched two women without

their consent.

Williams, 21, made a brief court appearance after he was charged

with one count of sexual battery and three counts of rape by

instrumentation. Several players, including fellow starters Keiton

Page and Jean-Paul Olukemi, came to the courthouse and sat next to

Williams in a packed courtroom or waited outside for his hearing to

finish.

"It goes without saying that we take the charges very

seriously," coach Travis Ford said in a statement. "Darrell will

not travel or play while the legal issues are addressed."

Williams did not stop to speak with reporters at the Payne

County Courthouse before leaving through a back door. His attorney,

Willie Baker, declined to comment.

Williams was not required to enter a plea, and his initial court

appearance was continued until March 7. He was freed on $5,000

bond.

According to court documents, Williams is accused of holding two

women against their will while he reached into their pants at an

off-campus party Dec. 12 that lasted into the following morning in

Stillwater. Two of the rape by instrumentation counts involve the

same woman.

Assistant District Attorney Tom Lee said two other men faced

related charges. Yayi Janneh, 22, was named in the police

affidavits containing the accusations against Williams and faced two felony

counts of sexual battery. Zach Thomason was charged with

unlawful possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

No other basketball players were charged, although the police

affidavits allege several attended the party and at one point

"surrounded" one of the women. Six players were on the prosecutors'

list of potential witnesses.

Williams, a junior, was averaging 7.1 points and 7.3 rebounds in

his first season at Oklahoma State after transferring in from

Midland College in Texas. He had started 12 of 23 games, including

the past six, and was named the Big 12's rookie of the week Monday

after he scored a career-high 18 points and had 12 rebounds in the

Cowboys' 81-75 win against Oklahoma on Saturday.

Assistant coach Chris Ferguson said he was unaware of the

charges against Williams when he substituted for Ford on the Big 12

conference call Monday morning.

"We'd be one down, so that would hurt anybody. Somebody else

would just have to step up, and that's why basketball is a team

game," Ferguson said. "We're going to find contributions from

other people if that indeed is the case."