Ok, first off, it's ridiculous and despicable to compare the Winston situation to DJ. It's disrespectful to Nick Saban, to Alabama, and to the girl that Winston apparently raped. I do think there are some things you shouldn't get a second chance for, some things that one time is enough and if the evidence I've heard is correct, Winston should be in prison. There is a line.
However, let's not confuse what happened here and what we know about the DJ case. DJ was kicked off the team, remember Winston and their girlfriend beating running back got 0 punishment, none (over their abuse of women). If you can't tell the two apart, that's simply the product of defective reasoning. DJ also faced criminal charges and those were dealt with properly as well, there was no cover-up by Alabama, there was no looking the other way as was the case with FSU, Penn State, etc... Four players got kicked off the team immediately.
Now, it is my opinion based on everything I've heard that DJ's role in the matter was lesser. This is backed up by the simple fact that his prosecution was more lenient. The prosecutors has information to base their decisions on, so when one guy gets off light it is reasonable to assume that there was evidence what he did not rise to the level of what some of the other players did. I find this to be extremely relevant because I am not of the mind that standing next to a guy who kills someone is murder. I never could buy into that logic and I never will. It's not the same. Is it a crime? Sure, but being in the wrong place with the wrong people is never the same as committing an act of aggression, and I listened to what Saban had to say, I've read several articles and I haven't seen a single one that detailed a single act of violence by Pettway. That does matter to me.
So, when the judicial system, the University of Alabama, and Nick Saban, all in unison decide to give Pettway a second chance, am I to believe that this is a "win at all cost" move? Was he not already kicked off the team? Is Nick Saban suddenly unable to recruit talent at the position? No, it's not, clearly it's not. This isn't a case of FSU refusing to sit a starting quarterback in a championship run, this isn't the case of FSU refusing to sit a running back during a playoff run, this is a case of DJ being given a second chance because people with more information than anyone in this thread frankly, felt he deserved that.
Based on what I know how, he didn't do anything I view as unforgivable. He did something wrong, he was around the wrong people, he clearly didn't do enough to stop what was happening, and I can't speculate beyond that. But, he was punished and people more aware of what actually happened decided to give him a second chance.
I'll say something else. Giving a kid who deserves a second chance, or may be not even a second chance so much as understand why they might be acting out, or why they might have been in a bad situation can mean a lot,. As a kid I had some issues, I had a troubled home life and I got into minor trouble and my dad decided he "couldn't control me" so he just ditched me basically (at least that was his rational). After that, I was hanging out with some unsavory people, not doing anything (really) bad myself, but coming too close for comfort. The thing is, it took me years to overcome the hole that was created in part by people feeling like I was a lost cause, and my being foolish enough to believe them. It's very, very important to be able to discern the difference between a bad apple, between someone that really is a bad person, and a good person in a bad situation.
