DB Janzen Jackson (#15) survives dismissal thus far
Our legal montra is pretty simple: innocent until proven guilty. I guess this did not apply to the Vols’ Nu’Keese Richardson and Mike Edwards who were both permanently dismissed from the team for their attempted armed robbery charges. Meanwhile, safety Janzen Jackson is barred from team activities while the school awaits further information.
This is by no way saying the players were not involved in any incident, but at the very least the players should all be treated like Jackson–barred from team activities until all the facts are in and we learn the disposition of the case.
Let’s be honest here, we really don’t know the facts accept for how the media played it out. Unfortunately, the media portrays stories with a bit of a slant. So until the actual truth comes out and based on the severity of the charges, a fair punishment would be to remove the players from the team until the case is resolved.
Kiffin did acknowledge “After extensive and thorough research of the situation and considering various disciplinary options, I’ve decided it’s in the best interest of our program to remove Nu’Keese and Mike,” Kiffin said in a statement. He further commented by saying, “We hold our student athletes to an extremely high standard on and off the field. Our student athletes must be responsible members of society, and this type of conduct will not be tolerated.”
Kiffin’s actions were presumably from public scrutiny and pressure from the community. Who knows though, what will happen if the charges are dropped or if the crime really wasn’t as severe as the allegations portrayed.
The bottom line, Kiffin and Tennessee are both jumping the gun, you should punish the players after it has been determined what the actual crime was and each player’s involvement. Until that time, it’s truly a guessing game and the ones who suffer are the student athletes.
The school has a responsibility to take care of its atheletes as much as the athletes have a responsibility to uphold the program. It is very clear players are treated differently and depending on how much of a star you are will determine how much you can get away with.
