Yeah This Makes Sense, Douche

[Townhallsavoy]

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Deon Johnson was arrested last Thursday in Mobile and charged with second-degree rape and sodomy. The speedy football prospect at Spanish Fort is a University of Alabama commitment.

Muscle Shoals defensive lineman Dee Liner was arrested twice this summer on misdemeanors nowhere near as serious as that felony. For about a week, the elite recruit did not practice with his team after walking out of practice. He was subsequently suspended from his team.

Liner, who is committed to Auburn University, returned last week and was a catalyst in a 43-0 win against Russellville. He'd missed the jamboree and first game of the season.

Good for him. It is positive to know the young man saw a value in still playing for his school on his way to the SEC.

The two cases, aside from affecting a top recruit heading to opposing flagship schools, are not created equal.

While Liner was suspended, I believed that Auburn should have pulled his scholarship offer while he worked through more important things than football. My belief was that all programs, not just Auburn, should have pulled their offers.

Team membership was central to the opinion. Would a university offer a full-tuition academic scholarship to a student currently not enrolled at a high school?

Football prospects need to continue to play. The character growth and life lessons derived from playing on a team are as big a benefit as continued skill development. Liner now meets that criteria.

It was disappointing to see that Johnson's plight rallied a segment of fans to ask me if his offer should also be pulled. The blanket summary goes like this: If the kid going to Auburn needed to have his offer pulled for bad behavior, then the Alabama recruit deserves the same treatment.

First of all, shouldn't everyone's first thought be about an 18-year-old and his future? And if a crime was committed, about the victim too?

But to address the issue, Alabama, the state where football trumps all, still resides in the United States of America. The words "innocent until proven guilty" still matter.

For all intents, whatever commitment the Spanish Fort senior had to the Alabama program is now contingent on due process. Does that really need to be said? The legal system controls that offer. Nick Saban doesn't need to pull it.

If Johnson is cleared of all charges, then he gets his life back. And then football becomes possible and important again.

The vilest opinions argued that Alabama now has an issue recruiting young people of character. The rationale carried a chorus of "They're doing it, too" and "It's not just us." It would take the fire of a thousand suns to burn that way of thinking out of this state, but if it could be vanquished, we'd all be better off.

The delight in another's misfortune is what poisoned trees and forces recruits to go into hiding the first week of February while deciding to play for Alabama or Auburn.These have nothing to do with Auburn besides Auburn being the victim, you fuckstick.

That said, there's something far more interesting to the Johnson case than another prism into how our state views football.

According to a Mobile Press-Register report, Johnson turned himself in to police last Thursday. The felony charge for second-degree rape is defined by Alabama law as having intercourse with someone younger than 16, but older than 12, as long as the defendant is at least two years older than the victim.

Lt. Jud Beedy, spokesman for the Daphne Police Department, said the charges take place over a 10-month period. Beedy said the alleged victim's parents made a complaint. There was an investigation and enough evidence found to make an arrest.

The age of that alleged victim was not released.

Every football coach in Alabama is thinking about that story this week when he sees a senior star walking the halls with an attractive freshman or sophomore. They better. They also better say what needs to be said to the player or wind up regretting it.

Johnson is still going to school. He's practicing and can play football until the matter is resolved. He's innocent until proven guilty.

In theory, he could play this week. The system rules at Baldwin County Public Schools do not infringe on that right. He's not suspended from school. But should he play?

I cannot see how that's plausible on a field where he'd interact with opponents capable of poking fun at his plight during a heated moment.

Some people may wonder what message it sends if Spanish Fort plays him sooner rather than later and doesn't wait for his arraignment. That's valid.

But I do know why it makes sense for him to still be with his team. According to our justice system, he's done nothing wrong.

And Johnson must be crippled emotionally. Football has always been a positive vehicle to help a troubled young person. It's undefeated at that.

My experiences discern the conclusion that prep players who make mistakes do not improve their standing by being separated from their team. That was a key concern with Liner.

But it's another matter whether he plays. Does the No. 5 team in Class 5A gain anything by playing Johnson? The right thing might just be to let justice play itself out before he does.

Jeff Sentell is the high school sports editor for The News. Write to him at jsentell@bhamnews.com

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2012/09/spanish_forts_deon_johnson_des.html

[War Eagle!!!]

Un fucking believable...

[HSVBeerNerd]

http://i.imgur.com/MPb9u.jpg

[Godfather]

You know nothing much surprises me anymore, but fucking WOW.  I mean wow.

[noxin]

You know nothing much surprises me anymore, but fucking WOW.  I mean wow.

Glad you clarified.  I thought the all-caps "wow" was a little overboard

[JR4AU]

I think the media is just having fun seeing how far they can push the "we love bammer and hate Auburn, and we don't care that it's obvious" envelope, while claiming to be unbiased. 

[Godfather]

I think the media is just having fun seeing how far they can push the "we love bammer and hate Auburn, and we don't care that it's obvious" envelope, while claiming to be unbiased.

I think the media has become a bunch of trolls, honestly.


Not that they weren't before.

[dallaswareagle]

I think the media has become a bunch of (bama) trolls, honestly.


Not that they weren't before.

Added.

[wesfau2]

Fuck's sake.  This guy is employed by a newspaper?  Forget the laughable content for a second and focus instead on the amateur style.  This reads like a post on a bama message board.

Now, let's examine the content:

the elite recruit did not practice with his team after walking out of practice. He was subsequently suspended from his team...Would a university offer a full-tuition academic scholarship to a student currently not enrolled at a high school?

I don't recall hearing that Liner was kicked out of school over his relationship with the football team.  Was he?

First of all, shouldn't everyone's first thought be about an 18-year-old and his future?

I think that's all anyone is thinking about: should the kid continue to be recruited by colleges in light of the accusations against him?  The question in the article seems to pre-suppose a favorable outcome for the accused.

According to our justice system, he's done nothing wrong.

What?  The "justice system" is undecided on the guilt or innocence of Johnson at this moment.  But he has been arrested on sufficient evidence to suggest that he might be guilty.

[Tiger Wench]

The corndog listens to Finescum in the afternoons on XM - he said he actually heard a turd caller say that the "rape and sodomy" weren't a big deal cuz the girl was the guy's girlfriend.

She was FOURTEEN YEARS OLD.

And Finescum did not even discredit what the guy said.

The corndog is slowly coming around to understanding what I have been telling him about those inbred sonsofbitches since the day we met.

[AUChizad]

Fuck's sake.  This guy is employed by a newspaper?  Forget the laughable content for a second and focus instead on the amateur style.  This reads like a post on a bama message board.

Now, let's examine the content:

I don't recall hearing that Liner was kicked out of school over his relationship with the football team.  Was he?

To be fair, I think he was making an analogy. He's saying he's not playing football, so he shouldn't get a football scholarship just like you wouldn't expect a kid not enrolled in school to get an academic scholarship.

Doesn't mean the analogy isn't stupid.

He knows full well that if you pull a kid's scholarship, you don't just offer it back. That's immensely more of a bush-league move. And the kid would tell that school to fuck right off. Exactly what a bammer such as himself would love to see so Nicky could swipe him up, after he's back on his high school team and all of his sins are absolved.

I think that's all anyone is thinking about: should the kid continue to be recruited by colleges in light of the accusations against him?  The question in the article seems to pre-suppose a favorable outcome for the accused.

Not to mention the glaring fucking hypocrisy that we should all be concerned about the poor rapist's future, but fuck that kid that hopped a public pool fence. His life should be over. Saying this even after admitting the seriousness of Johnson's offense compared to Liner's.

What?  The "justice system" is undecided on the guilt or innocence of Johnson at this moment.  But he has been arrested on sufficient evidence to suggest that he might be guilty.

Imbecile understanding of "innocent until proven guilty". When that day inevitably comes, will it then be time to pull his scholarship? Or should Bama just pull his scholarship while he awaits the trial, and then offer it back after he is found guilty and has served his time?