"When you're put on a pedestal like that, you hear a lot of things and you see a lot of things and you think it's OK"

by YouCanPutYourEddsInIt on Jul 29, 2008 12:01 PM CDT

I'm no Gopher lover, and I sure as hell am no Dominic Jones lover. In light of the sexual assault incident involving two (or more) Iowa football athletes, however, this recent article about Jones seems to carry relevance.

If you don't recall, Jones was convicted of sexually assaulting a girl - while she was unconscious, and after she had had sexual relations with other football team members - in an incident eerily echoing that at Iowa.

It seems that as despicable we may find the situation and Jones himself, at least he appears to be taking the right approach to his life following it. He's actually got a lesson to share with other athletes.

http://www.startribune.com/local/west/26011539.html?location_refer=Homepage:highlightModules:3

I only hope that something as positive can come of the Iowa situation.

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Glad he's turning it around

But he got off light, very light. A year of working out and working weekends in retail? I wonder if the victim feels as good about his redemption.

by jebushchrist on Jul 30, 2008 11:41 AM CDT 0 recs

Agreed, Jebus

I was pretty pissed about how lightly he got off, too. And I am not expecting to give much kudos to a puff piece about a convicted sexual criminal. But I am impressed that he actually seems to get the point that he made a huge mistake, rather than blaming anybody but himself like other athletes may have done.

Maybe its that we’ve been overloaded with stories of athletes who go on to make the same mistakes, so in context this seemed like worth mentioning.

The bottom line still stands that he got away with something horrible, but that doesn’t mean that he can’t take the experience and turn it into something educational to other student-athletes so similar incidents can be avoided. Reverse this trend?

by YouCanPutYourEddsInIt on Jul 30, 2008 12:13 PM CDT up 0 recs

I wasn’t saying “you’ve been snowed!”. I agree with you 100%. He’s doing the right things and appears to be trying to prevent others from repeating his mistakes. It’s the legal system I have a problem with here.

Again, glad to see he’s looking for redemption, I only wish he served some actual jail time first.

by jebushchrist on Jul 30, 2008 12:38 PM CDT up 0 recs

The Legal System is part of it

But there is also still a prevalent “blame the victim” culture that surrounds big-time sports. And whether that mentality is expressed directly or merely implied, it still exists. That was all sadly apparent over the past few weeks with the Iowa case as well.

by Bucketochicken on Jul 30, 2008 1:38 PM CDT up 0 recs

Unfortunately

I think that a lot of the blame the victim culture stems from the jersy chasers that do exist. Neither this case nor the Iowa one has anything to do with that, but it’s something that will always be a problem. I’m glad to hear him saying something about it, and I know the NFL rookie sessions deal with it. Anybody know if the NCAA or the Hawks in general address it as part of sports freshman orientation?

by chitownhawkeye on Jul 30, 2008 3:28 PM CDT up 0 recs

There will always be Jersey Chasers -

Just like there will always be groupies, starfuckers, and Presidential interns (or Secretaries of State, as the case may be). And while that group shouldn’t go unacknowledged, it’s the “Sports Before All Else” people that worry me – the hyperfans, the wealthy boosters, etc. We all saw their sentiments expressed in various degrees of clarity all over the message boards & elsewhere. The ones who propagate and encourage the sense of entitlement that so many of these athletes seem to have. Some are more insidious than others, but the people who are so blinded by their loyalty/fandom so as not to be able to even believe that something like that could happen here - not with The Good Captain at the helm – are also culpable for allowing that culture and mentality to exist.
I mean, there were people actually intimating that Barrent decomitting is the fault of the fans, the media, etc, for “rushing to judgement” and “throwing KF under the bus” and for not standing by the team like a true fan. Um, shades of March 2003, anyone?

by Bucketochicken on Jul 30, 2008 3:47 PM CDT 0 recs

Agreed completely

And on top of it, those are the people who are most likely to be willing to chew up and spit out the players, having the attitute, we don’t care if they graduate (or just have “leisure studies” degrees) as long as the team does well this year. Raise them up, make them feel like gods, and then discard them when their eligibility is done.

by chitownhawkeye on Jul 30, 2008 5:22 PM CDT up 0 recs