Posted on 08/02/2008 7:28:00 PM PDT by OKIEDOC
I'm standing while typing this, so consider it a writer's rendition of a standing ovation. Presumably, this standing "O” is for Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops.
Perhaps it should be directed at OU president David Boren, or to Stoops and Boren.
Maybe athletic director Joe Castiglione is in there somewhere.
Whoever is responsible for dismissing freshman wide receiver Josh Jarboe, bravo.
Jarboe was allowed to keep his scholarship after felony gun charges were lowered to misdemeanors in Superior Court at DeKalb County, Ga. Jarboe pleaded guilty to bringing a gun to school and carrying a pistol without a license last March. Under Georgia's First Offenders Act, Judge Michael Hancock reduced the charges since Jarboe had no prior convictions.
After escaping those potentially felonious circumstances, Jarboe inexplicably found it necessary to spew expletives in a video while rapping about guns and shooting people.
Should Jarboe lose his scholarship for a misdemeanor gun possession charge? In my opinion, no.
Should Jarboe lose his scholarship for making a rap video about guns and shooting people? In my opinion, no.
Should Jarboe lose his scholarship for these two acts within a span of four months? In my opinion, yes.
Stoops didn't appear to be headed in this direction when he told The Oklahoman's Berry Tramel, "Kick a guy off the team for what he says? We're starting to talk about everything kids say and do. Now we're in people's homes, in their private spaces.”
Perhaps I misread the remark, but that tends to happen when people don't give a direct answer to a direct question.
It sounded like Jarboe was headed to the OU practice field rather than headed back to Georgia.
Stoops evidently had some sort of revelation between Thursday and Friday.
Perhaps his wife, Carol, whispered in her husband's ear, "Would you want our children going to the same school as a Josh Jarboe?”
Parents of the 28,000 or so other children enrolled at OU understandably might ask the same thing.
Dismissing Jarboe got rid of all the wondering.
Stoops doesn't truly know Jarboe, but how could he? With the continued increase of recruiting restrictions, coaches know less and less about their new players.
When he announced Jarboe was still welcome in Norman, Stoops said in a statement, "We have personal knowledge of Josh through our recruiting contact with him and from personal references from his school and individuals of authority in his life. We feel that he will be a positive contributor to our campus.
"We have already stressed to him that his citizenship is of the utmost importance. He understands that anything less than exemplary behavior will not be tolerated.”
Apparently, those who stood up for Jarboe back in Georgia don't know him very well, either.
Cedar Grove High School football coach Ray Bonner insisted Jarboe was a "good kid” who had made a "bad choice.”
"To paint that kid as an outlaw, that's not right,” Bonner told The Oklahoman back then. "He feels like he let his family down, his teammates down, but he refuses to let any of this get the best of him. I know he's learned from this.”
Cedar Grove running back Xavier Avery said of Jarboe: "He's not a gangster. He's not that type of dude. After what happened, people were saying he is a bad kid. But I know that's not true. People don't know him like I do.”
Dismissing Jarboe averts a potentially disturbing third act of the Jarboe Chronicles on the OU campus.
OU will be fine without Jarboe. There are plenty of players on campus who can run fast and catch a football. The Sooners can afford to lose Jarboe both on, and certainly off, the field.
What OU cannot afford is another incident involving a gun-toting football player.
Why take that chance?
In another story Bonner disagreed with Jarboe being booted off the team paraphasing that rapper Ludicris was from Atlanta.
Could it be that so called Honkeys are just getting tired of putting up with with this violent rap coming out of the mouths of young men who should know better.
Jarboe probably thought that he could continue on with trying to be a bad boy because he made over 1200 yards last year cathing the ball.
Well Jarboe, my Patrick is an all American Tom Cat who made 7 neighbors yards in one night and that still didn't keep him from getting neutered for being a bad Kitty.
People got to follow rules Rap or No Rap and whether or not they are black, white or brown.
This violent rap may be OK with Obama for his little girls and his air supporters but I don't want my children around such foul mouthed ignorance.
Just because I'm country doesn't mean I'm not cool.
I guess he’s just not the Jarboe they knew. There’s a lot of that going around...
Stoops made the right decision. This kid would have fit right in with Switzer, so I am glad that Stoops and OU is cutting him loose before he hurts somebody bad.
Hardihar, OKIEDOC, maybe it is that the honkies ARE getting tired of it. Except the ones who are voting for BO out of guilt.
Well I just wonder.
I sure am.
Good for Stoops and the OU crew.
OU should get some sort of “ethics in college sports” award for this.
And getting shed of Kelvin Sampson, serial liar.
And I say that even with a fair bit of nostalgia for the good old days
when Oklahoma was Switzer-Land.
But even Bud Wilkinson and sane alumni knew when enough was enough
and brought an end to that before there was a BIG problem...
like a shooting death or even bigger mayhem by team members during
their recreational hours.
Stoops already has the Rhett Bomar/JD Quinn fiasco to live down. I’m sure his hand was forced by the OU administration.
The funny thing is, Bomar has been an upstanding citizen since then, while Quinn has been arrested TWICE for DUI while playing at the University of Montana.
Yet Montana’s coach, BOBBY HAUCK, keeps Quinn on the team while kicking off true student-athletes who have broken no laws like Jason Washington, a transfer from Bowling Green.
Receiving stolen property (gun) and having gun on his high school campus.
Here is the “rap”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kB9btJr4uTc
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