No man should ever hit a woman. It’s an obvious statement and one that I will not argue about. When the graphic video of Oklahoma running back and hopeful draftee Joe Mixon was released, it was hard to watch and even harder to believe. Since then, Mixon has apologized and it does seem like he understands how horrible his situation is. Even so, the damage has been done. And this instance alone has kept Mixon out of the combine and off of the draft boards for some teams. That’s a lot for a player who could easily be a first-rounder otherwise.
Earlier this week, Detroit Lions GM Bob Quinn spoke on Mixon being left out of the combine. And considering just a year ago Quinn talked about zero-tolerance, his response should have been obvious. Except it wasn’t. Quinn called it unfair. And there is a slight piece of me that thinks maybe this is something in his past, but still, there have been people put in jail for lesser evils.
And just considering Mixon is one the biggest problems I have with sports as a whole. Your faults can be pushed away by your talents and production. It’s the case with sports at any level. Think back to high school. Where the best player on the team could get away with anything because their production mattered more. Important things like an actual education or learning disciplines are thrown out the window. Wins matter more than grooming these kids into the adults and leaders they need to be.
And this mentality branches out past the “glory years.” Players believe they can walk onto a college campus and own it because of their talents. Sadly, that can be the case still. A small school that lands a big talent is going to keep them happy no matter what the cost. Why? Because these kids make them the money they desperately yearn for.
All of these little events can add up. And eventually, something really bad happens like what happened with Mixon. Still, the Lions don’t feel like they can just give up on him because he is very talented. He will get drafted somewhere, and he will help that team win games. Unfortunately, if that starts happening in a year or two, his story might get hidden behind the number of yards he compiled.
This scenario isn’t anything new either. Just last season, the Kansas City Chiefs selected Tyreek Hill, a player that was also dealing with a horrible domestic abuse case from college. Hill, however, was given a chance by the Chiefs, and he ended up being their best weapon on offense. Kansas City knew they would deal with backlash from the pick, but thought his skills were too good to stay away from. And it seemed like as the season went on that story of him was swept under the rug for stories about how fast he is. That’s tough to understand. There will always be voices that won’t let that story go away, and I believe that needs to be the case.
I really want to support whoever Detroit drafts this year. They are going to be a part of the Lions family and I obviously want them to succeed. But drafting a player in a situation like Mixon is going to be hard to handle. I do believe in second chances, but I also have my personal values to deal with. And in my head I can’t see myself really cheering for him, even if he ends up being one of the best players on the team. I really just hope Quinn and the rest of the Lions organization be the bigger people here and show Detroit that values are more important than on the field production.
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