DA opts not to press charges on Cam and Hootie...

B1GTide

TideFans Legend
Apr 13, 2012
45,481
46,794
187
I'll tell you what. I would not suspend them for a single play. But that's just me.

I would have required a drug screening to find out if they were smoking weed. The police ride-alongs were also a great idea. Any other action would come from the results of the drug test.
 

RTR91

Super Moderator
Nov 23, 2007
39,407
6
0
Prattville
I would have required a drug screening to find out if they were smoking weed. The police ride-alongs were also a great idea. Any other action would come from the results of the drug test.
Like the weekly urine tests they are having?

Documents obtained by a television station in Louisiana show that Alabama has already begun disciplining left tackle Cam Robinson and safety Hootie Jones, who were arrested on drug and weapons charges in Louisiana May 17.

According to the documents obtained by KNOE 8 News in Louisiana, coach Nick Saban suspended both players indefinitely May 19.

There's more.

According to the documents, both players have had to undergo weekly urine tests, have had regular drug counseling, have monthly video appointments with a mental health consultant and have had to meet twice a week with a Tuscaloosa police officer for gun safety/ownership education.

They also both have had to complete 20 hours of community service.

In addition, Robinson has spent at least 26 hours riding along with the Northport Police Department while Jones had to spend 21 days in a drug rehab program, per the documents.
 

Snuffy Smith

All-American
Sep 12, 2012
3,537
640
162
Huntsville, AL
We can debate the relative merits of legalizing weed on NS - but the bottom line is that it is against the rules in NCAA as well as NFL & that extends to you whether you play for Alabama or the Colorado Buffs, Falcons or the Broncos. You want the benefits of participating you have to abide by those rules. Whatever punishment our coaches feel appropriate to keep our players inside the rules is fine by me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

BamaMoon

Hall of Fame
Apr 1, 2004
20,810
15,647
182
Boone, NC
Sounds like we can quit worrying about it because CNS is handling the matter.

And last time I checked, not much gets by him.
 

Airborne Tider

All-American
Aug 2, 2008
3,369
0
0
Fort Benning
Like I tried to say in the last thread, we needed to let this work itself our before there was a witch hunt on either side. Glad it is all worked out and I LOVE the punishment handed down by Saban. He's better than some judges up here in DC.

Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk
 

rgw

Suspended
Sep 15, 2003
20,852
1,351
232
Tuscaloosa
I'm not sure what the "he deserves punishment" crowd is looking for?

He clearly didn't steal the weapon given the report on its theft being all the way in Baldwin County. It may have been several degrees removed the thief by the time he purchased it. Who knows? If he purchased it from a pawn shop or some other used firearm vendor, the blame falls more on them than Cam Robinson. Even if Cam purchased it with the knowledge it may have been stolen, the state can no more prove that than the defense can disprove that the officer smelled marijuana. It goes both ways in justice. I'd like to hope that isn't the case but the burden is entirely on the state to prove it and they didn't have the evidence to do so.

I knew pretty early on that there was little chance that charge lasted and his judicial punishment would lay entirely on the amount of marijuana present in the vehicle. If it was a large amount, it could have been an intent to distribute felony and the presence of firearms would be a compounding factor that they were indeed trying to distribute. It wasn't and it was on the DA to decide if a misdemeanor offense was worth a high profile case that was rapidly heading in the direction where the MPD would get dragged through the mud.

And that is what digs at me...a lot of people want to stop the arresting for minor drug offenses, pull back from the war on drugs, but they want fire and brimstone for a gram of pot. It is just trifling "lets kick at the champ" bs. Especially from the media where I feel that sentiment is widely held.
 
Last edited:

4Q Basket Case

FB|BB Moderator
Staff member
Nov 8, 2004
9,554
12,823
237
Tuscaloosa
This whole incident is an object lesson in avoiding adverse situations.

The facts are: Four young men were in a car. Together. At 2AM or so. In a closed park. Withat least two guns in said car. And a small amount of marijuana.

Out of all of that, only the marijuana is illegal. And even that is only marginally so. On top of which, there's no reasonable way to determine who it belonged to.

But unless you have a Pollyanna outlook on all aspects of the world, you have to admit that the combination of all those undisputed facts is a bad look.

It would appear that the cop was selective in his arrests. And that the case was essentially un-prosecutable.

But if they don't put themselves in such a vulnerable situation, none of this happens at all.

At an entirely different level of severity, there are parallels between that and Kate Upton strolling by a construction site in a thong bikini and stiletto heels, then complaining about sexual harassment when the inevitable hoots, hollers, catcalls and invitations pour forth.

She did not one thing illegal. But she put herself in a situation where the results of her perfectly legal actions were reasonably predictable, and everyone all around would have been better off if she'd used just a smidgen of common sense and discretion.

Legal actions aren't always smart ones.
 

dvldog

Hall of Fame
Sep 20, 2005
6,568
344
107
72
Virginia
Kate Upton strolling by a construction site in a thong bikini and stiletto heels, then complaining about sexual harassment when the inevitable hoots, hollers, catcalls and invitations pour forth.
Pictures pls!
 

mittman

All-American
Jun 19, 2009
3,942
0
0
Thanks,

Personally I am glad Coach Saban takes the approach he does. Some may see this as punishment for some crimes (maybe there is some of that, but I don't think that is the majority of the intent). I see this as teaching moments for some mistakes. They may not get anything out of this, but if they don't that is on them.

I think Coach handled it incredibly well.
 

4Q Basket Case

FB|BB Moderator
Staff member
Nov 8, 2004
9,554
12,823
237
Tuscaloosa
Thanks,

Personally I am glad Coach Saban takes the approach he does. Some may see this as punishment for some crimes (maybe there is some of that, but I don't think that is the majority of the intent). I see this as teaching moments for some mistakes. They may not get anything out of this, but if they don't that is on them.

I think Coach handled it incredibly well.
Agreed 100%. All the actions in the document are designed to prevent recurrence. They also require a lot of work and take up enough time that it's both punishment and deterrence.

I also think Saban knew about, and probably facilitated, the publication of the actions. We've had other incidents, and not one word as to how it was handled internally got out. Not so here.

He knew how it would look to remain publicly silent on his response to a bad (thought not prosecutable) set of facts involving the combination of drugs and guns.

The man is a genius at building both his own brand and the image of his program. Think this won't register with parents on the recruiting trail?

He knows when to keep quiet and when to go public, even when it's not him personally going public. This is why he's a bargain, even at $8 million a year.
 

Intl.Aperture

All-American
Aug 12, 2015
3,681
23
57
Chesapeake, Virginia
Agreed 100%. All the actions in the document are designed to prevent recurrence. They also require a lot of work and take up enough time that it's both punishment and deterrence.

I also think Saban knew about, and probably facilitated, the publication of the actions. We've had other incidents, and not one word as to how it was handled internally got out. Not so here.

He knew how it would look to remain publicly silent on his response to a bad (thought not prosecutable) set of facts involving the combination of drugs and guns.

The man is a genius at building both his own brand and the image of his program. Think this won't register with parents on the recruiting trail?

He knows when to keep quiet and when to go public, even when it's not him personally going public. This is why he's a bargain, even at $8 million a year.
If the Alabama brand and ball team were a publicly traded commodity he'd be worth billions.
 

Lost in TN

1st Team
Sep 20, 2009
839
0
0
Collierville, TN
According to my friends (Ole Miss Grads), the only reason they got off was that the DA Jerry Jones was a Bama Grad. Then they changed their story to he and his family are big Bama Boosters. Now it is that he and his family are Bama Fans.


I sure hope that nobody is going to say that my Ole Miss friends (true defenders of virtue and morality) are incorrect????
 

LSUgrad2BamaDad

All-SEC
May 5, 2016
1,307
950
137
Destrehan, LA
I do not think athletes should get preferential treatment, but I do think they should be held to a higher standard outside of the legal system because of all that is given them (I'm not implying inappropriate benefits, just simply mean full ride to college, with some additional perks.) If a DA doesn't have enough or appropriately gathered evidence to put forth a trial with a high percentage of a conviction, then he shouldn't waste taxpayers money in doing so and create a circus. Internally is a different story. I would have to believe that the behavior of Robinson and Jones is not what Saban expects of his players and thus he has every right and should discipline them internally. As a fan, I would like to see it at a minimum of the first half of the first game, but would prefer one game.
 

Gr8hope

All-American
Nov 10, 2010
3,408
1
60
I do not think athletes should get preferential treatment, but I do think they should be held to a higher standard outside of the legal system because of all that is given them (I'm not implying inappropriate benefits, just simply mean full ride to college, with some additional perks.) If a DA doesn't have enough or appropriately gathered evidence to put forth a trial with a high percentage of a conviction, then he shouldn't waste taxpayers money in doing so and create a circus. Internally is a different story. I would have to believe that the behavior of Robinson and Jones is not what Saban expects of his players and thus he has every right and should discipline them internally. As a fan, I would like to see it at a minimum of the first half of the first game, but would prefer one game.
How do you feel about the discipline Les has doled out, specifically his reliance on team votes for determining the punishment?
 

RTR91

Super Moderator
Nov 23, 2007
39,407
6
0
Prattville
From Tuesday in The Ouachita Citizen:

Police reports, DNA evidence not enough for DA in Alabama ball players' case


Six Monroe police officers involved in the arrest of two Alabama football players turned up DNA evidence and reported observing high-powered handguns and marijuana in plain view in the suspects’ automobile, as revealed in a Monroe police case file, though Fourth Judicial District Attorney Jerry Jones took a pass at prosecuting the pair.

The six police officers' reports entail a number of new details in the case, including conflicting statements made by the four men in the automobile, which included the two Alabama football players who prepped at high schools in Ouachita Parish.

The DNA samples and other evidence gathered by police will not be entered as exhibits in a criminal prosecution of Cameron Robinson, a West Monroe product who’s a starting offensive lineman for the Crimson Tide, and Laurence "Hootie" Jones, a former Neville Tiger and currently a backup safety at Alabama.

That’s the case since Fourth Judicial District Attorney Jerry Jones dropped the felony charges against them Monday.
 

LSUgrad2BamaDad

All-SEC
May 5, 2016
1,307
950
137
Destrehan, LA
How do you feel about the discipline Les has doled out, specifically his reliance on team votes for determining the punishment?
Not a fan of how he handled the Jeremy Hill situation in 2013, which is what I assume you are referring to. I thought he had a pretty good record for many years with internal discipline, but that started changing in 2011. The players love him, but sometimes for the wrong reasons. I'd rather see a tough, but fair approach.
 

KrAzY3

Hall of Fame
Jan 18, 2006
10,615
4,540
187
43
kraizy.art
high-powered handguns
Yeah, as opposed to those ball and musket handguns some people carry around...

I also laugh at the notion that a gram of marijuana could be in plain view. Considering that was all that turned up I do find that extremely unlikely.
 

New Posts

Latest threads

TideFans.shop : 2024 Madness!

TideFans.shop - Get YOUR Bama Gear HERE!”></a>
<br />

<!--/ END TideFans.shop & item link \-->
<p style= Purchases made through our TideFans.shop and Amazon.com links may result in a commission being paid to TideFans.