What bothers you most about the Jimmy Johns case?
June 24, 2008
By Ken Rogers
The most difficult part of the Jimmy Johns arrest story is trying to identify which facet of this saga is most disturbing.
Maybe it’s the story itself. The facts are jolting. Johns sold cocaine to undercover investigators five times before his arrest Tuesday morning. Two of those incidents occurred on campus, two more at his residence and one more was a car-to-car exchange.
Or maybe it’s because another black eye has been applied directly to the University of Alabama football program, and certainly to the university itself. If you don’t think other SEC schools are laughing hysterically at this latest gaffe, check out some fan comments at the tail end of internet stories.
Maybe it’s the frustration of thinking a corner had been turned regarding disciplinary issues and then realizing that that corner is the start of a series of S-turns. Coaches had expressed hope that character issues were improving. Maybe they are. But an arrest of a senior football player for selling cocaine sure sets back the perception that discipline has been restored to the program.
Maybe it’s the embarrassment that Johns is the 10th Crimson Tide football player to be arrested in the past year.
Maybe it’s the puzzling revelation that Johns lived alone off campus. How was that possible? No roommates? Actually, I’m not sure I could’ve survived college without roommates, either in a dorm or off campus. I know I couldn’t have afforded it. And we’re in the part of the year when supervision is considerably different than it will be when the team reports to fall camp. Idle hands ...
Maybe it’s the skepticism that must be felt the next time we hear about the Peer Intervention Group, a Nick Saban innovation that lets team leaders be a watchdog and a disciplinary committee for the team. That is a great idea and sounds real nice, but Tide fans can be forgiven for wondering where were Johns’ peers were as one of their own was tainting them all with his criminal activity. Was every player completely blind-sided by Johns’ arrest? There weren’t warning signs? No change in his behavior? Johns betrayed his teammates. Hopefully, no teammate betrayed him by failing to act on a suspicion.
Maybe it’s the cynical reaction to Saban’s statement Tuesday. “This type of behavior obviously will not be tolerated, and he is no longer a part of our program.“
Maybe a little late there. But at least players know there’s a no-tolerance policy for drug trafficking.
Maybe it’s the realization that Johns had so little regard for his teammates, his school and his coaches that he’d risk criminal activity. Folks, his arrest, while repulsive, should be welcome. Because if a guy will sell coke to undercover cops, you’d better believe he’d take money if a gambler wanted him to miss a tackle at a key moment of a close game.
Maybe it’s the disappointment that a guy who had a wonderful opportunity to improve his life, both through football and education, chose to go the other way.
What a shame.
