True but I think Les looks into these guys and makes decisions on who to give a second chance. He has certainly passed on some highly coveted guys due to behavior issues so we know he doesn't take them all. Like any program, you have to balance the risks and rewards. We could always pass on any guy who may have behavioral issues but we wouldn't be competitive and Les would lose his job.
This. Now, in Jeremy Hill's case, Miles definitely knew that he had existing legal problems. The same could be said of RP, as well. But in the grand scheme of things, LSU doesn't have more of this going on than other programs, but it may feel like that to us as fans because we follow LSU so closely. Outside of Louisiana, this isn't getting a lot of press. One of my Aggie friends did send me an email alert about the arrest. I simply replied to him that Hill was preparing for his Heisman campaign the way that Manziel did last year.
I got a felony at 22, and it turned my life around. Existing criminal records are NOT an end-all-be-all indicator of who a person is.
I understand that, but sexual assault on a 14-year old girl is a bit more serious than a "behavioral issue". I was really surprised that Les took Hill after that. That wasn't like Perrilloux using a fake ID or Badger failing a marijuana test. There was a real victim. The bar fight had a real victim, too. If Hill gets a third chance from Les and then commits another violent crime it will make Les and LSU look very bad.
As did I, but I was 20 when I got mine. Now I'm a successful, licensed engineer. Hill actually picked a great weekend to get into trouble with all the hoopla surrounding the draft.
Big difference between celebrating your thuggery and punishing it. Old "Thug U" wasn't really known for taking a lot of steps correcting players. Remember the battle dress uniforms worn by the entire team? Ever seen the LSU Tigers dance on the logo of their opponents field? I can think of other programs that would come into question before LSU. Many teams have stayed away from the really tough calls of suspending or removing some of their best talent from the team when the situation called for it. What about Oregon? Or Ohio State for that matter? That is something that Miles has not been afraid to do. He has been pretty consistent in gathering and understanding the facts, letting the legal system work and then making the call. Even if he has to go into a critical game without a key player. And in some cases he has been loyal to a fault but that's the nature of a father. It's easy to put a spotlight on the program, the coaches and the players but you should remember that these are all human beings we are talking about. There have been some grave mistakes made and bad deeds done by people much older, wiser and in key authority positions. Most of whom we elected. I'd put this Staff's track record up against ours as a nation any day. I won't even put an age adjustment in there. People are a fairly uncertain species prone to influences, distractions and temptations. Especially young men who are on a big stage with a lot of fame being thrown in their direction. I would hardly say that anyone is making excuses for bad behavior. We all accept that things are going to happen and mistakes will be made. What I am looking for is the right action to be taken when unfortunate incidents occur. I disagreed with some of the leniency of the past but I also understand that I am not privy to all the facts and circumstances. You make the best decisions you can with the information you have and try to take into account the long term impacts to the program and the player. I have always respected the fact that Miles will not play this out in the media. It's typically been fairly tight lipped and addressed directly with the parties involved. Overall I think Miles and his staff do a pretty good job balancing everything. Remember that a vast majority of the kids that have come through this program have done well. If you do the math, the player issues experienced since Miles came to LSU as a percentage of the total number of players who have come through the system is under 2%. It's more likely closer to 1%. I'll take a 98% - 99% success rate any day of the week. Now lets talk about the 9 players who were drafted and are moving on to NFL careers this year. A more interesting statistic would be the percentage of players that went to the NFL. That's the brand that future players are concerned about. LSU is in fine shape my friend. Brand and all.
Was she a victim, or just Ho that was younger than she looked? I've heard a few different takes on that situation...and I've never been a big fan of the way they classify "statutory" as a form of sexual assault. I had my trysts with 16-17 year olds when I was 18-19, and there was nothing about them that could possibly considered rape...although I might have been able to charge at least one of them with it, myself.
I guess my point was that I think Les looks into each situation on a case by case basis to make a determination. With Hill, he plead guilty to carnal knowledge. I know a buddy who's life was destroyed for two months after a false rape accusation that was recanted. Not saying that's what happened here but you can't impune the guy for sexual assault when he was not convicted of it. I don't know what Les should do but simply giving a blanket statement that Les should get higher character guys without having the knowledge that Les has is not really fair to him or the athletes. We have to hire a guy that we think best represents the university and hope he runs his program appropriately. 2nd guessing with limited information isn't appropriate.
I think your hysteria and paranoia is blinding you to reality. We have a well-funded criminal justice system in this country with good officers and prosecutors, and we put a much higher percentage of people in prison than any other country in the world. If a high-profile person, who has everything he does highly-scruntinized, is deemed worthy of being allowed to walk the streets of our city as a free man, then who cares if he's allowed to play football for our local team? is it because playing football in such an honorable and noble calling in life? Did McNeese State look bad when they took Cecil Collins (he got kicked out of McNeese for failing drug tests). Did Jimmy Johnson and the Miami Dolphins look bad when they drafted Collins? He played a season for Miami before he committed burglary he has been in jail 12 years now. Did Jacksonville State look bad when they took RP? He got suspended from Jacksonville State. Did Tom Coughlin and the Giants look bad for signing RP and giving him a Super Bowl ring? Did LSU look bad for taking Zach Mettenberger after he was kicked out of Georgia for sexually assaulting a girl in a bar? Did WVU look bad for taking a coke dealer as their RB? Do the Saints look bad that they just signed him? Per a Sports Illustrated article: of the players in the 2010 preseason Top 25 -- 204 in all had been charged with or cited for a crime. • Of the 277 incidents uncovered, nearly 40 percent involved serious offenses, including 56 violent crimes such as assault and battery (25 cases), domestic violence (6), aggravated assault (4), robbery (4) and sex offenses (3). In addition there were 41 charges for property crimes, including burglary and theft and larceny. • There were more than 105 drug and alcohol offenses, including DUI, drug possession and intent to distribute cocaine. SignOnSanDiego.com has been tracking NFL player arrests dating back to 2000 and offers a great database for looking up the NFL’s tax subsidized misfits. As of 10/14/2011, NFL Player Arrests by Team 36 – Minnesota 35 – Cincinnati 32 – Denver 30 – Tennessee 26 – Kansas City 25 – Chargers 25 – Jacksonville 25 – Miami 24 – Tampa Bay 22 – Cleveland 22 – Indianapolis 19 – Chicago 19 – New Orleans 17 – Pittsburgh 17 – Washington 16 – Baltimore 16 – Carolina 16 – Green Bay 16 – Seattle 15 – Oakland 14 – Atlanta 14 – Buffalo 12 – New England 11 – Dallas 11 – N.Y. Giants 10 – Philadelphia 9 – Arizona 9 – Houston 9 – San Francisco 8 – N.Y. Jets 7 – Detroit 7 – St. Louis Jul 20, 2012 ... In total there have been 28 arrests of NFL players since the Super Bowl Etc
