Brown U. player critically injured by head ..

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Providence, R.I. • Police in Providence, R.I., say a Brown University basketball player is in critical condition after being punched in the head in what appeared to be an unprovoked assault.

Deputy Police Chief Thomas Oates says 21-year-old sophomore Joseph Sharkey suffered severe head injuries when a man came up to him and hit him early Sunday morning while he was talking to a group of women on Providence's East Side.

Campus and city police responded. Oates says he doesn't know if Sharkey and the assailant knew each other.

A Rhode Island Hospital spokesman says Sharkey is in critical condition.

A Brown spokeswoman had no immediate comment. Brown's basketball team website lists Sharkey as a guard who played in high school at Northfield Mount Hermon. He's from Norwood, Mass.

Brown U. player critically injured by head punch