Gene Jelks Reflects on his decisions to seek Revenge on UA

[JeffAtlanta]

Coach Curry did not keep Gene Jelks from making it in the NFL as a running back. Bobby Humphrey did. Humphrey was just a better running back than Gene Jelks and Jelks was never going to get enough touches to make it to the NFL as a running back

Bobby Humphrey didn't have anything to do with it - Jelks blew out his knee. He was basically in the same boat as Kerry Goode.

 

[BigEasyTider]

Bobby Humphrey didn't have anything to do with it - Jelks blew out his knee. He was basically in the same boat as Kerry Goode.

Bingo.

And isn't it strange how much has changed in twenty-five years? A tailback blew out his knee, so he was moved to corner? That would never happen these days.

 

[CapstoneTider]

Bobby Humphrey didn't have anything to do with it - Jelks blew out his knee. He was basically in the same boat as Kerry Goode.

I think he was not stretching it that far, just saying that Humphrey was going to beat him out at TB regardless. Humphrey was a once in a decade back.

Jelks and Humphrey were in the same class I believe. I remember watching them returning kick-offs as freshman.

IMO you are correct in that the injury was Jelks biggest career threat, not Bobby. I am not sure how he would have competed with him overall if not for the knee, if he would ended up splitting time with Bobby, sitting on the bench or excelling at another position.

 

[JeffAtlanta]

I think he was not stretching it that far, just saying that Humphrey was going to beat him out at TB regardless. Humphrey was a once in a decade back.

I remember watching the Pat Dye show after the 1985 Iron Bowl and he commented that Jelks & Humphrey were to top two backs in the south and Alabama got them both. Jelks had 192 yards in that game.

The big debate during that time period was who was better, Jelks or Humphrey. The answer tended to change week to week.

If Jelks had stayed healthy, he would had stayed in the rotation. Jelks average 6.1 yards a carry during the 1985/1986 seasons - Humphrey's was 5.8.

 

[CapstoneTider]

I remember watching the Pat Dye show after the 1985 Iron Bowl and he commented that Jelks & Humphrey were to top two backs in the south and Alabama got them both. Jelks had 192 yards in that game.

The big debate during that time period was who was better, Jelks or Humphrey. The answer tended to change week to week.

If Jelks had stayed healthy, he would had stayed in the rotation. Jelks average 6.1 yards a carry during the 1985/1986 seasons - Humphrey's was 5.8.

We had a lot of great backs that were injured during the last years of the turf. Not sure how long we had it, but it seemed to effect the backs during the RB renaissance of the 80's and early 90's. They increased their speed and quickness a good bit over the past decade......wonder why?

We lost some good ones before it all blew up in Coach Stallings face his first year when our players started dropping like flies.

I am always saddened by injuries, and just like a strong psychedelic drug, a severe injury can push some players to the brink. I believe this was the case with Jelks.

 

[Jordan54]

Another article for the sole purpose of damaging Alabama and our recruiting efforts. Two titles in the last 3 years. Top recruiting classes. Why put out an article like this at this time? Nobody cares. Jelks is one of these guys that will always blame someone else for his problems.

 

[Capstone46]

This is a sad article. Not because of the mistakes that Jelks made, but the fact that he continues to look externally to place the blame.

 

[CrimsonBleedRed]

Two words for Gene Jelks: Go away.

 

[4Q Basket Case]

Several points:

Jelks had already been moved to CB when he blew his knee out.

He did it returning a kick (not sure if it was a punt or a KO, but I seem to recall a punt).

Humphrey's progress made the move in both the team's and Jelks' best interest. Jelks wouldn't have seen that many reps behing Humphrey, but he didn't see it that way. Don't know what was in his mind, but I would guess he was blinded by the glamor of the RB position.

The move was somewhat controversial at the time, but Perkins mentioned that he was about to do the same thing when he took the Tampa Bay job. That quieted the controversy at least a little.

The blown knee truly was sad....Jelks relied on speed and shiftiness, and medicine wasn't near as far along in the treatment as it is today. So he lost that crucial half-step. In combination with not being truly mentally into the job, that was that.

Regarding the betrayal: He has expressed no remorse for what he did, just where the fallout landed him. As a fellow human being, I hope he finds peace and grace. Regarding forgiveness, though, I can't get there. Go your own way, Gene.

 

[capnfrog]

Great Quote!

Have we forgiven Curry?

Curry did not do anything to me so I don't have to forgive him. I didn't like his holier than thou attitude when he was at Bama, I still have nothing for him. I would be happy if he moved to Egypt so I wouldn't have to see him on sports shows anymore.

 

[Boo Radley]

I got over Curry when he moved on from behind the microphone. Man, I hated listening to him analyze a game/team.

 

[TideMan09]

"I tried to medicate with cocaine. I tried to medicate with alcohol," Jelks said he told Curry. "I said, 'I became homeless.' I said, 'Coach, it's not fair. You took it from me"..


WOW..I honestly can't believe he said that or actually believes that..When you go down "Addict Avenue" to make yourself feel better..You have only yourself to blame.. When me & my ex wife split..I felt the same way Jelks did for about one drink..Then I looked at a picture of my 2 baby girls..And I realized how lucky I was still was..And how thankful I was to my ex wife..Cause for 18 months of her life..She carried the 2 best things inside her that's ever happened to me..For that..I'll always be extremely grateful to her..

So instead of taking things personally & becoming a bitter human being like Jelks..I looked at just how lucky of a man I still was..And built the rest of my life off of that..I'm so thankful I did too..Cause I get to see my girls when I want to..Me and my ex are still good friends(actually we get along better since we divorced..Go figure..LOL)..

No matter how bad life becomes..You still have a choice to how the rest of your life plays out..It's all our choice..

 

[Ldlane]

I'm not trying to give an excuse for Jelks, but if that's how people around you "deal" problems and you have no "role models" in life you end up becoming part of that environment. I see it everyday around here with promising kids that get trapped in their environment and don't have the education that enables them to be independent thinkers. I surely don't think many feel sorry for those type of people, but I can see how it would happen. I mean there are those of all races and cultures that blame others for their lot in life.

 

[teamplayer]

OK, I've read it all the way through now, and while somewhat sympathetic to certain points of it, I hate to break it to Jelks, but this is called "life."

Bill Curry moved Jelks to defense.

He did not make him snort cocaine.

He did not pay him money.

He did not offer him money to make charges against Alabama.

He did not make the man do a single thing he didn't want to do.

The notion Curry "took" something from the man is borderline insane. Jack Tatum
destroyed Darryl Stingley's life on a legal hit. And I don't want to sound cruel,
but that's part of the game. Player after player leaves injured and never plays
again.

But "took something from me?"

All of us experience loss and disappointment in life. Very little is to be gained by
still blaming people for it. Things happen to folks that are no fault of their own.

Dealing with it - that's called life.

What? You mean we can't blame all our problems on other people? ha The majority of our society now believe in no accountability. If we make bad decisions, we should face the consequences instead of making excuses and blaming others. However, that is no longer the American way. Sad.
I hate that Jelks turned trader on us because he was a heck of a player. I wish I could remember only his playing days, but that is not the case.

 

[capnfrog]

"I tried to medicate with cocaine. I tried to medicate with alcohol," Jelks said he told Curry. "I said, 'I became homeless.' I said, 'Coach, it's not fair. You took it from me"..


WOW..I honestly can't believe he said that or actually believes that..When you go down "Addict Avenue" to make yourself feel better..You have only yourself to blame.. When me & my ex wife split..I felt the same way Jelks did for about one drink..Then I looked at a picture of my 2 baby girls..And I realized how lucky I was still was..And how thankful I was to my ex wife..Cause for 18 months of her life..She carried the 2 best things inside her that's ever happened to me..For that..I'll always be extremely grateful to her..

So instead of taking things personally & becoming a bitter human being like Jelks..I looked at just how lucky of a man I still was..And built the rest of my life off of that..I'm so thankful I did too..Cause I get to see my girls when I want to..Me and my ex are still good friends(actually we get along better since we divorced..Go figure..LOL)..

No matter how bad life becomes..You still have a choice to how the rest of your life plays out..It's all our choice..

I have in the past worked with several guys that at different times went through some hard times by having to leave their home and children because their spouse wanted a divorce. I always told them mostly the same thing maybe not in the same words. "Be the best man you can possibly be, make good things happen by not feeling sorry for yourself, and not drowning your sorrows in a bottle, support your children and make her realize that maybe it was her and not you that was the problem". Self pity is like a disease and it will eat away at you until you are only a shell of the person you could have been. When you wake up in the morning put a smile on and your best foot forward and refuse to let anything or anybody bring you down. Don't quit smiling, it will confuse the heck out of your enemies.

 

[IH8Orange]

It appears that Jelks was a bomb ready to explode and the barner boosters are the ones that set him off. He's to blame for allowing his negative feelings to simmer and present such a explosive mixture to be detonated by a group of pathetic and malevolent agitators. It's quite on par for the course with the worthless scum that support that malodorous cestpool of corruption down on the plains to seek out a young man in his weakest time and exploit him for their own degenerate means.

While some parts of the article aren't very complimentary of the Bama program, the majority of the actions mentioned in concert with our program, while not always above-board or legal, don't seem to have been performed purposely to hurt Jelks or anyone else. The actions of the barn boosters are explicitly self-serving, malicious and show that they considered Jelks nothing more than an expendible pawn in their game of hate. They sought him out, fertilized that seed of vengeance and then when they got all that they needed from him, they discarded him like a spent casing. Note that it was AFTER he was exploited by the barn and summarily alienated from his support structure that he sank into misery.

I'm not excusing his actions. He allowed himself to be used by the barn. However this just shows the reprehensible depths to which some people will sink when they allow jealousy over even something as seemingly inconsequential as college athletics to take over their souls. If Jelks wants to place blame for his problems, blame those that purposely ignited the odious passions that were consuming him in order to manipulate him for their own sordid ends and then turned their backs on him after they got him to betray those that were perhaps unaware of the depths of his pain, but were all along his TRUE family.

 

[bnhonest]

This is a sad article. Not because of the mistakes that Jelks made, but the fact that he continues to look externally to place the blame.

I believe Coach Saban once said that the day you wake up and realize that you and your situation are a product of the decisions you've made, that's the finest day of your life. Thats the day that you realize that you have the power to determine where you want to be and begin to take the steps to get there.

 

[CrimsonPride]

I am glad the he is no longer doing drugs and hopes he has a good life. However, he will not truly be healed until he lets go of this perceived wrong that was done to him. To be 46 years old and still letting the decision a coach made to move you to another position on the team over 20 years ago have this much influence over your life is sad. Why would he say that he does not have closure even after confronting Curry?

I don't know what all is involved in a 12-Step program, but seems like a major part should be to acknowledge and accept the part that you played in in how your life not turned out. Who made the decision to use his football earnings and the money form the *U boosters to buy alcohol and cocaine? I mean really whose fault is it that he could only get a job as a substitute teacher after playing in the NFL and CFL? Why not go back to school and get your degree?

He is not first or last Div 1 or NFL player who ends up having a regular career/life like the rest of us. Look at Kerry Goode, he would have been very special in the NFL. I am sure his dreams of being a premier running back were shattered by his injury, but he chose to have the best life that he could. Your life is what you make of it. Gene, I wish you the best.

 

[Redwood Forrest]

Gene Jelks BETRAYED the Tide not thinking about what he gained from his BAMA experience. The only thing he gained from his betrayal was monetary. As a person.... he is forgiven but how can he expect history to forgive him? How can history be erased?
Gene.......... you dug your own grave my friend...... now lie in it.

ROLL TIDE!!!!!

You summed it up quite well. I have forgiven Mr. Jelks. I hold no grudge against him. That does not mean I have to like him or trust him. It just means he is forgiven. As for Coach Curry forgivness is not an issue. I thought he was as idiot to leave Bama for somewhere else. I still think that.

 

[CapstoneTider]

"I tried to medicate with cocaine. I tried to medicate with alcohol," Jelks said he told Curry. "I said, 'I became homeless.' I said, 'Coach, it's not fair. You took it from me"..


WOW..I honestly can't believe he said that or actually believes that..When you go down "Addict Avenue" to make yourself feel better..You have only yourself to blame.

It came off sounding like a typical reaction instead of something extremely severe. I wish ESPN would have clarified that a little. Most people don't go on a big league drug binge when they are transferred to a new job at work or something of the sort. Curry was taken a back by this you could tell. What if all your players behaved like this when you made position decisions or put up the new depth chart.

I am supposing that ESPN had to give this article a little shock value and updated newspeak as a reason for rehashing a story that happened so far in the past that 80% of the employees of ESPN were still in elementary school.