Let him play or cut him loose.
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| From Twitter Account @LSUCoachMiles |
With the mindset that many people have now when it comes to troublesome athletes no one would fault him if he cut him loose. An argument could easily be made that Hill does not care about how his actions affect others or the legality of them since he got in this fight when he was already on probation.
He's shown that he can't be trusted; that he's a live wire. Do you really want to put your faith in someone that you can't trust to stay out trouble and be there when you need him? I think not.
At the same time he has to think about his offense. He needs the guy that ran for a team high 755 yards and 12 touchdowns on the roster--but can he afford to have him due to all the baggage he carries?
For the lay person it may seem like a tough decision, but keep in mind that in the high stakes, ultra-competitive world of college football any coach is a losing season--or in some cases a 'good' season--away from being fired.
Now someone like Miles would get picked up in a heart beat, but what's to say he'll have the talent base there (wherever it may be) to succeed? A great coach will get the most out of his players, but he can't get out what isn't there.
So when you factor in everything it is not an easy decision. Morally it seems clear, but from an objective/business standpoint it does as well. What's a coach to do?
You let the team decide.
Coach Miles: The team voted to allow Jeremy Hill back, and he practiced this afternoon.
— LSU Football (@LSUfball) August 5, 2013
Okay. I get why he would be willing to put it in the hands of the team, although you have to think he knew what the end result would be long before doing so. It did keep him from having to make the call, and if the critics want to complain he can point to the team.
If they can accept him so can he.
I have no issue with this, but I have to wonder about one of the comments he made:
“The guy is a good college student, a good person. He’s not a guy who has constant bad behavior.”
Hmm...Miles must have forgotten that Hill was already on probation for forcing a 14-year old girl to perform oral sex. That charge was eventually plead down to misdemeanor carnal knowledge of a minor.
Sounds like bad behavior to me Coach.
Hill did not force the girl to do anything, it was consensual. You might want to at least get your facts straight. With that said, Hill sucker-punching that kid was cowardly at best.
ReplyDeleteI've read more that said otherwise.
DeleteGreat Travis...post a link, I would love to read what you are reading. I mean, do you really think Hill would be anywhere else but jail if he "forced" a minor top perform oral sex? Is that not rape?
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing what a plea deal can do for you.
DeleteHill isn't the first athlete to get a lesser charge for his crime.
ReplyDeleteI agree, definitely not the first...but forcing a minor to perform sexual acts? Common sense tells you it was consensual. Post a link from one of your articles.
ReplyDeleteCommon sense tells you it was consensual? Are you kidding? That's what every guilty party says! You had a good argument till you said that.
ReplyDeleteTravis, need to use "accept" vs "except". As in, if they can accept him...
ReplyDeleteAs for the charge with a minor, I seriously doubt that she was forced into it. They were in high school and he was a star football player. You may get some of that stuff covered as a star college player, but at that level, nobody cares. If they had thought her a credible witness for a rape charge, he would have been fried. If you want to speculate about his guilt, he also would not be the first athlete who was falsely accused because of his popularity. All things said, we don't know jack about the situation (and neither do you regardless of what you read elsewhere Travis) and the courts made a decision.
Okay guys--
ReplyDeleteAnon--thanks for the grammar tip. I'd like to blame it on auto-correct, but I don't know. Wouldn't be the first time I made that kind of mistake.
As for Hill, here is a link to one of the more reputable sources that say Hill and his buddy forced a girl to perform oral sex.
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/story/22757312/lsus-miles-must-stop-hiding-behind-system-boot-talented-troubled-hill
That one came up pretty easy; there are plenty more if you want to search for Jeremy Hill sexual assault or something like that. If you guys want to say that she wasn't coerced into oral sex than fine. It's your opinion. As for why the DA didn't go for broke and hit him with rape--I don't know. I'm not the DA. Maybe they didn't have enough evidence, maybe they wanted to give him a second chance since he was a kid, maybe the judge is a LSU fan, maybe they wanted to avoid a trial if possible, maybe the plea deal was Hill's lawyer's idea to keep his client out of jail.
I saw nothing that said he was innocent, that it was consensual or that it was a misunderstanding. I am not speculating on guilt. I am not claiming to know what went on. Just going with the information that is available.