ATHENS, Ga. --- Michael Lemon was kicked off Georgia's football team earlier this month, but he hasn't been cut off from tapping into a fund set up last year through contributions from fans after his mother was murdered.

The former Bulldogs defensive end is facing charges of felony aggravated battery and misdemeanor battery after Athens-Clarke police allege that he beat up a fellow student at a June 29 cookout at an Athens apartment complex. The student was knocked unconscious and suffered a concussion and "blowout fracture" around an eye.

Lemon's legal troubles have left Georgia athletic officials to consider what to do with the "Lemon Support Fund" that totaled $71,872 after 349 contributors donated money.

Michael Lemon and his 17-year-old brother, Marquez, have dipped into more than half of the fund's total -- $36,354 -- according to information obtained by the Athens Banner-Herald under an Open Records request.

"We've been talking about that, and that's a new twist for us," athletic director Damon Evans said. "This money was raised to help this kid out and his brother. Now, the situation has arisen of 'How do we handle that?' We're still going to do what's right by Michael and do what's in the rules of the NCAA and utilize that money as it was given to us to do so."

Michael and Marquez Lemon have used those funds for "insurance, clothing and essentials, furniture, utilities, automobile expenses, food, school expenses and travel," according to the university.

The Lemons are still able to access the fund, but Georgia is in the process of working with the NCAA to determine what to do with the fund now.

Their mother, Phaba Lemon, was found dead in her home near Macon in February 2007, after the family's mobile home was set on fire. Her boyfriend, Herbert Hart Jr., pleaded guilty to murder and other charges last week and was sentenced to life in prison.