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Post by 75tranzam on Mar 29, 2015 5:48:44 GMT -5
Dismissed UGA player arrested at Alabama on domestic violence charges recruiting.blog.ajc.com/2015/03/29/dismissed-uga-player-arrested-at-alabama-on-domestic-violence-charges/Alabama coach Nick Saban was heavily criticized for this year’s signing of Jonathan Taylor, the former UGA defensive tackle who was dismissed from the Bulldogs last summer after being arrested on an aggravated assault/family violence charge. And Saban will be under even more scrutiny after what happened with Taylor at Alabama on Saturday night. Taylor was arrested and charged with domestic violence third degree assault and domestic violence third degree criminal mischief by the Tuscaloosa Police Department, as first reported by al.com’s Matt Zenitz. The 24-year old female victim had minor injuries to her neck, according to the report. Police also found a bedroom closest door with a hole punched in it. Taylor was dismissed from UGA last summer after two legal issues within a few months. The final straw was a police response to a third-party complaint that Taylor had physically assaulted his girlfriend during a domestic dispute at McWhorter Hall dormitory. Police said evidence and witness accounts indicate the 6-foot-4, 340-pound Taylor “choked” and “struck with a closed fist” his 5-11, 170-pound female victim. The case remains pending and unresolved in Athens. Last March, Taylor was one of four Georgia football players arrested for theft by deception after they were caught double-cashing meal reimbursement checks. Taylor played at Jenkins County High School, and signed with UGA in 2012. He spent this past season at a junior college before enrolling at Alabama in January. On signing day last month, Saban strongly defended his decision to sign Taylor, calling it a “university decision” and stating that it was a “decision that got made by a lot of people here.”
“We recruited this young man out of high school, and we felt that from what we knew about him, what his high school coach said, what the people at the school that he was at said about him, and where he came from in junior college, that he was the kind of guy that deserved a second chance,” Saban said. “But with that chance, we also have stipulations of things that he needs to do from a personal development standpoint so that he won’t make any kind of mistake like this ever again.
“That’s an ongoing process with him, and that’s something that we continue to monitor, and he has done a very good job with.”View image on Twitter Radi Nabulsi ✔ @radinabulsi Follow Question: The number of days between Jonathan Taylor's enrollment at Alabama and his first arrest? Answer: 80 11:49 PM - 28 Mar 2015 Clay Travis ✔ @claytravisbgid Follow At some point one of these schools is going to get civilly hammered for bringing athletes with criminal records on campus. Matter of time. 12:01 AM - 29 Mar 2015 Clay Travis ✔ @claytravisbgid Follow Yes. RT @dwapdwappow: if he did this to a Bama student, can she sue the school based on them giving him a scholly with his previous record? Dan Wolken ✔ @danwolken Follow Apparently some of you all think he highest-paid employee at the university has no responsibility to create a safe environment on campus. Dan Wolken ✔ @danwolken Follow Re: Saban…if you bring a guy on your campus with a history of hitting women and he hits a woman, the coach should be held accountable. Matt Hayes ✔ @matt_HayesSN Follow Are you kidding me with Jonathan Taylor? This one, if true, is all on Saban. #RollTide 11:29 PM - 28 Mar 2015 Plainview, NY, United States VIEW
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Post by 75tranzam on Mar 29, 2015 5:51:17 GMT -5
This is what happens when you collect other people's trash.
I have no sympathy for Coach Saban and company at Bama and I like Saban as a coach but I knew this was a stupid move from the start.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2015 6:01:16 GMT -5
But...but....but....second chance, etc.
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Post by bigdawgs on Mar 29, 2015 6:37:49 GMT -5
He had already had a second chance. Then again, he was under that lax disciplinarian Mark Richt.
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Post by dawgfan17 on Mar 29, 2015 6:42:55 GMT -5
If only there had been someway for Saban to have known what type of person he was before he brought him onto the team.
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Post by zacharyjarm on Mar 29, 2015 6:45:57 GMT -5
If only there had been someway for Saban to have known what type of person he was before he brought him onto the team. While I didn't agree with taking him, lets not act like people shouldn't be allowed at 2nd chances. If that was the case and all of us were judged at our worse moments, I would imagine all of us wouldn't look that great either.
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Post by dawgfan17 on Mar 29, 2015 6:50:06 GMT -5
If only there had been someway for Saban to have known what type of person he was before he brought him onto the team. While I didn't agree with taking him, lets not act like people shouldn't be allowed at 2nd chances. If that was the case and all of us were judged at out worse moments, I would imagine all of us wouldn't look that great either. I was being a bit sarcastic but at the same time comparing a moment of being young and stupid we have all had to hitting and choking a woman is well not quiet apples to apples. Also he had a second chance. His first chance was the cash checking scheme he was a part of before being kicked off the team for violence against a woman. Saban knew the risk he was taking and so I have no sympathy for him in giving someone a second chance. He gambled and lost.
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Post by zacharyjarm on Mar 29, 2015 6:55:51 GMT -5
While I didn't agree with taking him, lets not act like people shouldn't be allowed at 2nd chances. If that was the case and all of us were judged at out worse moments, I would imagine all of us wouldn't look that great either. I was being a bit sarcastic but at the same time comparing a moment of being young and stupid we have all had to hitting and choking a woman is well not quiet apples to apples. Also he had a second chance. His first chance was the cash checking scheme he was a part of before being kicked off the team for violence against a woman. Saban knew the risk he was taking and so I have no sympathy for him in giving someone a second chance. He gambled and lost. I didn't say it was apples to apples. I do agree, that he gambled and lost.
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Post by bigdawgs on Mar 29, 2015 7:01:50 GMT -5
It might be important to note that he has not been proven guilty of the charge yet. I know that is challenging in modern America, but maybe we should at least pause and think about it. Wouldn't be the first time someone was wrongly accused. Not likely, but certainly possible.
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Post by dawgfan17 on Mar 29, 2015 7:06:22 GMT -5
It might be important to note that he has not been proven guilty of the charge yet. I know that is challenging in modern America, but maybe we should at least pause and think about it. Wouldn't be the first time someone was wrongly accused. Not likely, but certainly possible. Possible yes.
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Post by zacharyjarm on Mar 29, 2015 7:37:50 GMT -5
It might be important to note that he has not been proven guilty of the charge yet. I know that is challenging in modern America, but maybe we should at least pause and think about it. Wouldn't be the first time someone was wrongly accused. Not likely, but certainly possible. Very small possibility IMO.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2015 7:42:52 GMT -5
I wasn't happy with him being brought on, as I posted here. Seems the gamble has failed. Expect an indefinite suspension followed by being booted from the team. All without playing a down. It's a damn waste.
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Post by Pirate Joe on Mar 29, 2015 7:56:19 GMT -5
This is NOT a jab at or a defense of Taylor or Alabama, but part of it is the heightened awareness surrounding domestic violence. Many people are not inclined to give people second chances and especially over domestic abuse.
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Post by bigdawgs on Mar 29, 2015 8:58:33 GMT -5
Kirk Herbstreit ✔ @kirkherbstreit Follow Clearly some of the UGA players take advantage of Coach Richts forgiving heart. No fear of the consequences leads to ongoing shananagins. Oops..wrong coach.
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Post by NCBulldawg on Mar 29, 2015 11:46:05 GMT -5
Imagine that! The ajc somehow manages to get Georgia(UGA) into the headline of an Alabama player doing something wrong. That, my friends, is the "local" paper that Georgia players, fans and the University gets to deal with. One that will manufacture headlines to draw hits. You ever see the papers in Alabama headline an ex-Alabama kid getting into trouble again? My bet is no. Just amazes me the length the ajc goes to, and eagerly blazoning a headline with anything against a UGA football player, even when he is now an Alabama football player. <smh>
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Post by Pirate Joe on Mar 29, 2015 11:54:51 GMT -5
Imagine that! The ajc somehow manages to get Georgia(UGA) into the headline of an Alabama player doing something wrong. That, my friends, is the "local" paper that Georgia players, fans and the University gets to deal with. One that will manufacture headlines to draw hits. You ever see the papers in Alabama headline an ex-Alabama kid getting into trouble again? My bet is no. Just amazes me the length the ajc goes to, and eagerly blazoning a headline with anything against a UGA football player, even when he is now an Alabama football player. <smh> Former Alabama player Brent Calloway arrestedAlabama running back Brent Calloway (21) runs during the Crimson Tide's football practice, Tuesday, November 27, 2012, at the Hank Crisp Indoor Facility in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Vasha Hunt/ vhunt@al.com ORG XMIT: ALBIN101 (VASHA HUNT) Print Email Matt Zenitz | mzenitz@al.com By Matt Zenitz | mzenitz@al.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter on March 23, 2015 at 5:35 PM, updated March 24, 2015 at 10:43 AM Former Alabama player Brent Calloway was arrested during the weekend and charged with felony unlawful possession of dangerous drugs and second degree possession of marijuana I cant BELIEVE you are making me defend Alabama here.
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Post by NCBulldawg on Mar 29, 2015 12:32:20 GMT -5
Hey Klink! It worked. We got Pirate Joe!
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Post by NCBulldawg on Mar 29, 2015 12:34:49 GMT -5
Okay, this might be one instance, but I have to ask though, is that the big paper in Birmingham? Or, is this a blog headline? Where is this from, PJ
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Post by athens on Mar 29, 2015 12:53:06 GMT -5
What a waste of talent, especially with the extra chances he was given. Terrible shame.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2015 13:40:18 GMT -5
He gone.
Alabama Crimson Tide defensive lineman Jonathan Taylor has been dismissed from the team after he was arrested again on domestic violence charges in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
"This will still need to go through the legal process, but when he was given an opportunity here, it was under strict guidelines and we made it clear there was a zero-tolerance policy," coach Nick Saban said in a statement.
The 6-foot-4, 335-pound Taylor was arrested Saturday night and charged with domestic violence third-degree assault and domestic violence third-degree criminal mischief, according to the Tuscaloosa Police Department.
According to an incident report, police officers responded to a call near Alabama's campus to speak with a victim who told police she was assaulted by her boyfriend at approximately 6 p.m. Saturday.
After speaking to the victim about an altercation that took place at her residence, officers located the suspect at the victim's residence and spoke to him about the incident. Officers found probable cause to arrest the suspect.
The 24-year-old victim had minor injuries to her neck from the assault, according to the police report. The officer also noted in the report damage to a bedroom closed, door with a hole punched in it.
Taylor was held on $1,000 bond and placed on a mandatory 12-hour domestic violence hold.
Saban and athletic director Bill Battle both said Taylor warranted a second chance when he signed in January as part of the Crimson Tide's 2015 class. On signing day, Saban called it a "university decision" and said it was determined "that he was the kind of guy that deserved a second chance."
Taylor had been kicked off the Georgia Bulldogs football team in July after being arrested on a charge of felony aggravated assault and family violence. Police said he struck his girlfriend with a closed fist and choked her during an argument at Taylor's dormitory room. That case is still pending.
He also was one of four Georgia players arrested last March for theft by deception after they were caught trying to double-cash meal reimbursement checks.
Taylor spent last fall at Copiah-Lincoln (Miss.) Community College and enrolled at Alabama in January, which caused a stir nationally.
Taylor's arrest came just hours after Alabama defensive back Geno Smith was arrested and charged with driving under the influence early Saturday morning, according to the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office website.
ESPN's Chris Low contributed to this report.
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Post by bigdawgs on Mar 29, 2015 14:27:04 GMT -5
Good, quick decision.
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Post by athens on Mar 29, 2015 15:14:14 GMT -5
The right decision and really the only one that could be made
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Vespula
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Post by Vespula on Mar 30, 2015 8:44:40 GMT -5
Dumbass couldn't read either. It's not "If you can't join 'em beat 'em."
Enjoy prison, girl. There's a whole new world you can open up to now.
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Post by tonythegator on Mar 30, 2015 10:56:45 GMT -5
Alabama certainly seems to be a frontrunner for the Fulmer Cup now.
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Post by bcsbbad on Mar 30, 2015 14:56:11 GMT -5
we always win something
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Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2015 23:58:17 GMT -5
Nick Saban is "not sorry" for giving Jonathan Taylor an opportunity at Alabama following his dismissal from Georgia, but "very, very sorry" the way things worked out the defensive tackle was dismissed over the weekend following a domestic violence arrest.
Taylor enrolled at Alabama in January after a trouble-filled stint at Georgia that included a check-cashing scheme and a separate domestic violence incident.
Quotes via 247Sports:
Does Taylor's arrest change your stance on players who have been arrested for domestic violence?
“I think you learn from every experience and we certainly learned some things from this one. I certainly don't condone that kind of behavior, especially when it comes to how females are treated, and that's something we try to create a lot of awareness for with our players and we would certainly be very cautious about any player that any character problem, especially something like this, would be something that we would be very careful about in the future.
“But I will say this, we will continue to try to create opportunities for players and try to help them be successful, and even in Jonathan Taylor's case, if there's anything we can do to help him overcome his issues and problem we will still certainly try and help him be successful. But right now the guy just can't be on our football team.”
Do you feel like you made a mistake offering Taylor another chance?
“No, I'm not sorry for giving him an opportunity, I'm sorry for the way things worked out. I'm not apologizing for the opportunity we gave him. We wanted to try and help the guy make it work, it didn't work We're sorry it didn't work, we're sorry there was an incident, we're sorry for the people that were involved in the incident.
“But we're not apologizing for what we did and we're continue to create opportunities for people in the future and we'll very, very closely evaluate anyone's character that we allow into the program because we all have a responsibility to represent the University of Alabama in a first class way not to mention how we should represent ourselves and our family.”
Taylor, 21, was arrested Saturday evening for allegedly assaulting his 24-year-old girlfriend, who had “minor injuries to her neck from the assault,” according to a release from the Tuscaloosa Police Department. He was placed in Tuscaloosa County Jail on a $1,000 bond with a mandatory 12-hour domestic violence hold on charges of third-degree assault and third-degree criminal mischief.
While at Georgia, Taylor was arrested twice -- first for "theft by deception" after trying to cash a grant check twice and then again last July for allegedly punching and choking his girlfriend. He was charged with felony aggravated assault/family violence and dismissed by the Bulldogs the next day, just hours after being released from jail. That case is still pending.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2015 23:59:09 GMT -5
Alabama certainly seems to be a frontrunner for the Fulmer Cup now. Yeah, but if they win it they'll count it as an NC.
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Post by bigdawgs on Mar 31, 2015 7:18:31 GMT -5
College Football March 30, 2015 by Holly Anderson
Alabama has dismissed 21-year-old defensive lineman Jonathan Taylor from the football program following a weekend arrest on domestic violence charges. Headlines like the ones he’s made are distressingly commonplace in college football. It all runs together after a while — and that’s understandable and terrible at the same time.
But you might remember Jonathan Taylor for being one of four Georgia football players arrested, a little over a year ago, on charges of theft by deception after university police said they uncovered a scheme by players to double-cash their stipend checks. You might remember his ejection from UGA’s football program in July, after police said he choked and punched his girlfriend; they charged him with felony aggravated assault. You might also remember, just last month, Nick Saban defending Alabama’s signing of Taylor with Taylor’s charges from his time in Athens still unsettled, characterizing the choice to admit him as a group decision and saying “He was the kind of guy that deserved a second chance.”
Taylor has yet to see a trial for either of his pending cases in Athens. This new development in Tuscaloosa will take a while to resolve itself. In the meantime, how do we begin to make sense of a player in Taylor’s situation in Athens being allowed into Alabama in the first place, after a one-season stopover in the junior college ranks? Walk with me a little way. Here’s what we know right now:
We know Taylor is accused, again, of assaulting a woman. We know he has been dismissed from the team, per the following Saban statement:
“Jonathan Taylor has been dismissed from the team and is no longer a part of our program. This will still need to go through the legal process, but when he was given an opportunity here, it was under strict guidelines and we made it clear there was a zero tolerance policy.”
We know that whoever writes press releases for Alabama athletic director Bill Battle is not great at euphemisms:
“Representing this University is a privilege that none of us can take for granted. As I noted in my comments when the decision was made to allow Jonathan Taylor to attend the University on a football scholarship, I believe in second chances. I still do. However, being successful in that second chance requires responsibility and accountability. In Jonathan’s situation, the University and the Department of Athletics set forth very clear standards of accountability and expectations of conduct. Jonathan was afforded a chance to successfully overcome the difficulties that resulted in his departure from the University of Georgia. Unfortunately, it appears that he was unable to do so, in spite of extensive efforts to assist him. All of us hope that Jonathan and the young lady involved can deal constructively with the issues that led to this situation, and their aftermath, so that both of them can have productive, healthy futures. Violent conduct by any representative of the University of Alabama athletics department will not be tolerated. More than ever, we take seriously the responsibility that all of us have to represent our University and our state in the best way possible — in competition and in daily life.”
And we know that Athens-Clarke County district attorney Ken Mauldin and Georgia head coach Mark Richt both say they weren’t contacted by Alabama during Taylor’s recruitment process, blurring our preconceived notions of whatever Alabama’s staff was doing while they were supposed to be fully vetting Taylor prior to offering him a scholarship. Bama did make contact with Taylor’s high school and juco coaches, leaving the unavoidable impression that they stopped once they heard what they wanted to hear. And taking all that into account … again, how did we get here?
♦♦♦
I can’t put myself in their places, Saban’s and the athletic department’s and whatever university personnel were involved in Taylor’s admissions decision. We don’t know, will likely never know, the precise sequence of events that led to a scholarship offer, and still wouldn’t have a clue as to the thought process of each party even if we did. We just have their actions and public statements to go by, and the available information doesn’t make a lick of sense.
This is not a new kind of dilemma for college football, just one of the most recent and puzzling cases. Guys charitably labeled as “troubled” get signed by any number of teams every offseason. But Alabama’s apparently specific need for Taylor’s presence on the Crimson Tide was baffling to begin with. They weren’t the only team after him,1 but they snagged him, and why they even wanted to bother with him has been the subject of much curiosity. If some school with a bit more of an up-and-coming profile, a team with far more obvious needs, had signed Taylor … wouldn’t this make a lot more sense? It’s still entirely unacceptable, of course — but at least there’d be a clearer train of thought to follow.
Even if you indulge in the crassest of hypotheticals and draw a direct line between Ohio State’s offensive output in the Sugar Bowl and this corrupted attempt to bolster Bama’s defensive line, this is still the Tide we’re talking about here, a team whose recruiting rankings are studded with gold, a program that rarely deigns even to pick up a three-star prospect. Taylor the football player was well regarded on this season’s ESPN juco watch list, but the risk-versus-reward balance seems ridiculous.
Unless, of course, the answer is the simplest, scariest one: Not antipathy, not exactly apathy, but an indifference born of a complete absence of any need to weigh the dangers. Did Alabama consider the risks of bringing Jonathan Taylor to Tuscaloosa, and decide they merited his inclusion on the team? Or did Alabama never need to care about the risks at all?
Right now, it’s the only explanation that makes sense. What risk was there, really, to the program? This sport shifts glacially, and won’t change in time to adversely affect the careers of anyone who had a hand in this decision, or others like it. Neither the Crimson Tide’s recruiting nor their 2015 win-loss record will suffer. It seems most likely that they didn’t properly consider the admission decision, because they had no real need to. Because this little media conflagration that has unfolded over the past couple of days is Alabama’s worst-case scenario for a repeat assault allegation against Taylor: to be yelled at for a little bit.
With his swift dismissal from the football program, and Taylor’s short stay in Tuscaloosa, Alabama’s team staff won’t even feel compelled to address his presence from here on out. We know what we know, and I expect that’s all we’re going to get. As of this writing, the athletic department has not responded to a request for clarification of what those “extensive efforts to assist” Taylor consisted of. That thought will get consigned to a mental bin of unanswered questions, atop “Why did Alabama’s athletic director refer to two pending criminal trials as ‘difficulties’?” and “In what way does Alabama’s athletic director recommend that one recover ‘constructively’ from an alleged domestic assault?”
The Taylor episode will subside, at worst, into what will euphemistically be called a “distraction” for the football program. It won’t take long. That particular elision when we discuss these things, that inertia, takes hold so quickly, so insidiously. Difficulties, you know. By the time we all reconvene in July for SEC Media Days, Saban will be deploying that “I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed, but also mad” face full-time. He’ll rattle off whatever combination of word-pap he has calculated will get him out of that topic the quickest, in a tone of stern patience that says we should know better than to ask. And truth be told, maybe we should. We already know how much good it’ll do anyone.
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Post by bigdawgs on Mar 31, 2015 7:27:43 GMT -5
Mark Schlabach, ESPN
When defensive lineman Jonathan Taylor enrolled at Alabama in January, Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said he was the "kind of guy that deserved a second chance."
Alabama athletic director Bill Battle said: "Our coaches and I feel he is worthy of a second chance at completing his college football career."
After Taylor was arrested on domestic violence charges Saturday night, Alabama now has egg on its face.
When Taylor was admitted to Alabama, Saban, Battle and the university's administration were fully aware that he was a two-time loser at Georgia before Bulldogs coach Mark Richt kicked him off the team. Taylor was arrested twice in five months last year for allegedly double-cashing meal-reimbursement checks from the UGA athletic department, and then, worse, allegedly choking and striking his girlfriend with a closed fist during an altercation in his dorm room.
Now, Taylor is a three-time loser. He was arrested in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Saturday night on charges of domestic violence third-degree assault and domestic violence third-degree criminal mischief following an altercation with his girlfriend. According to Tuscaloosa police, Taylor's 24-year-old girlfriend had minor injuries to her neck. Police also found a bedroom closet door with a hole punched in it.
On Sunday afternoon, Saban issued a statement: "Jonathan Taylor has been dismissed from the team and is no longer a part of our program. This will still need to go through the legal process, but when he was given an opportunity here, it was under strict guidelines and we made it clear there was a zero tolerance policy."
Alabama gave Taylor a "second chance." Taylor needed all of 80 days on campus to blow it. Never mind that Taylor should have never been on Alabama's campus to begin with.
At a time when the NFL and other pro sports have increased their awareness about domestic violence, following high-profile incidents involving Ray Rice and others, Alabama took a foolish chance on Taylor for one reason. After watching Ohio State's offensive line push around his defensive line in a 42-35 loss in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff, Saban wanted to make sure it didn't happen again.
So Alabama signed Taylor. If Taylor had managed to stay out of trouble -- and, oh, avoid criminal convictions and prison time for his previous arrests in Georgia -- he might have immediately bolstered the Crimson Tide's defensive front.
Make no mistake: Alabama's decision wasn't about rehabilitation and second chances. It was about winning, and now the Crimson Tide look like big losers -- from the top down. It's not like Alabama is Louisville, where Cardinals coach Bobby Petrino seems to take any SEC reject as he tries to build his program. The Crimson Tide have the pick of the litter when it comes to recruiting. For whatever reason, they chose a troubled prospect with fleas.
Signing Taylor was never worth the risk. He still faces a criminal trial in Athens, Georgia, on two felony counts of aggravated assault. Taylor was arrested July 22 after an altercation with his girlfriend in his UGA dorm room. Under a new Georgia law, which went into effect last year, Taylor was charged with two felonies because police believe the alleged assault involved attempted strangulation. A UGA police report said Taylor is 6-foot-4 and 340 pounds; police said his girlfriend is 5-foot-11, 170 pounds.
Taylor was also one of four Georgia players arrested in March 2014 on misdemeanor charges of theft by deception for allegedly double-cashing meal-reimbursement checks from the UGA athletic department. Taylor was ordered to repay the money and complete community service and was allowed to remain on the team. After his July arrest, however, Taylor was removed from a pretrial intervention program. He faces a June 15 trial on two misdemeanor charges of theft by deception.
At the time of Taylor's arrest on aggravated assault charges, his high school coach told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Taylor "obviously stubbed his toe."
"Let's let the dust settle a bit, but that kid is distraught and tore up about everything," former Jenkins County (Georgia) High School coach Chuck Conley told the AJC. "The track record doesn't speak highly of him, but he's not a bad person. He's a very good person. I trust him with my life."
Sure, but would anyone else?
Like Taylor's high school coach, Alabama chose to overlook his ugly past.
Taylor, a junior from Millen, Georgia, spent last season playing at Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Wesson, Mississippi. After Taylor spent five months in exile from the SEC, Saban apparently believed he was rehabilitated. While Saban made the decision to recruit and sign Taylor, he isn't the only one at Alabama to blame. Battle approved Taylor's commitment, and Alabama's admissions office chose to admit him. In such a high-risk decision, you also have to believe that university president Judy Bonner had to sign off on it.
When Alabama announced Taylor was joining its team on national signing day, university spokeswoman Deborah Lane said in a statement to ESPN.com that athletics is not involved in the admissions process.
"Jonathan Taylor was admitted to the University of Alabama following the same procedures that the UA Admissions office uses to evaluate any student who has dealt with legal issues," Lane said in a statement. "The admissions process includes representatives from academic, legal, student affairs, student conduct, UAPD and counseling."
What were the first three questions on Alabama's admissions application? Height, weight and career tackles in the SEC?
Sadly, the ugly matter really goes beyond Alabama. Shouldn't there be a national policy in place that prevents players convicted of felonies -- and those who are accused of such crimes but who haven't yet faced criminal trials -- from transferring to other schools? Sure, people can be rehabilitated and learn from their mistakes, but that doesn't necessarily mean they deserve to play college football and receive a scholarship.
One of Mike Slive's last duties as SEC commissioner needs to be instituting a rule that prohibits student-athletes convicted of felonies from transferring from one SEC school to another. Players accused of violent crimes like domestic assault also need to be off-limits, at least until the criminal justice system has run its course and they've either been acquitted or convicted. It might be just me, but it doesn't make much sense that players can lose their NCAA eligibility for selling their autographs, but others can transfer and play immediately after being charged with beating a woman.
Taylor's attorney, Kim Stephens, told ESPN.com in February that Alabama wasn't the only SEC school that recruited his client. Unfortunately for Alabama, it was the school that signed him.
And now Saban and the university's administration will have to deal with the ugly consequences of making such a thoroughly stupid decision.
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Post by bigdawgs on Mar 31, 2015 7:34:35 GMT -5
I think that as a minimum there should be a Conference or even better, NCAA rule that a school cannot sign a player that is pending a felony charges in another state...or for that matter the same state. Second chances are one thing, but how about second chances AFTER the determination of guilt and punishment if warranted? In fact, Taylor goes to court in the next couple of days in Athens. What would have happened if he was sentenced to jail? That would have looked bad too. It is really sad that anyone even has to consider a "rule" for what should be standard procedure. And it is by no means just Alabama...others have taken people pending legal action too.
And btw, it should be pretty damn clear by now that Mark Richt has lost control of Nick Saban and the Alabama program. Not sure what Mark Richt controls anymore.
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