You would have thought after a year’s suspension with no issues and a no-trouble year-and-a-half of play, Joe Mixon would have earned back some good will points.
Guess not.
Star running back Mixon was suspended for the Oklahoma game on Thursday against Iowa State for doing what many of us have done in frustration: tearing up a parking ticket and throwing it on the ground. See details of the incident here.
The heavy punishment (for “violating the student conduct code”) resulted because of who Mixon is: a football player accused of assaulting a woman before he had ever even practiced in an OU uniform in 2014 (and who was later suspended from the team for a year).
Either that or leashes are now so short in Norman that dogs better watch out.
The suspension of Mixon has OU President David Boren’s thumbprint all over it. Boren previously showed how hard he comes down on OU football players when he engineered the school suspension of former OU linebacker Frank Shannon in 2014, despite the fact school officials who investigated believed Shannon innocent of sexual assault accusations. The accuser retracted the charges, but Shannon was still kicked out of school and his football career derailed.
Holding Mixon — or anyone — to such a fine line that he can’t be upset when believing he is being unfairly treated by a parking attendant is borderline cruel. That’s not much of a second chance.
Holding Mixon — or anyone — to such a fine line that he can’t be upset when believing he is being unfairly treated by a parking attendant is borderline cruel. That’s not much of a second chance.
We’ve all heard stories of how freshman English professors at the University of Oklahoma grade football players harder than regular students. Or, conversely, how much adulation 19-year-old athletes get over regular students on campus just because they can run or shoot.
Of course Mixon’s striking an inebriated woman in the face at a Campus Corner hot dog stand, causing her serious injury, is worth punishment. He was suspended from playing football for a year for that. He is now defending a civil lawsuit against him for it.
Then, following Mixon’s ban from the field, OU said he deserved a second chance.
But holding Mixon — or anyone — to such a fine line that he can’t be upset when believing he is being unfairly treated by a parking attendant is borderline cruel. That’s not much of a second chance.
Don’t get me started on how ridiculous the university’s parking situation is. OU Parking Enforcement’s tickets provide a revenue stream for the administration similar to a Boss Hogg speed trap.
About an hour after last Saturday’s game Mixon left OU’s temporary locker room through a small crowd of fans hoping to get autographs.
He apologized to the fans for not giving his autograph. He was polite. He said he was really tired and just wanted to go home.
Given the microscope he is under, who could blame him.
Joe Mixon: The first college football player in the history of the sport to be suspended for getting upset over a parking ticket.
— Mike
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