6-7, 5-7, 5-7... That is truth... Whorn... Of course a decade ago, this was your school...
s still going to Oklahoma. We were working in conjunction with Oklahoma with thesenegotiations to make sure they would be comfortable with him going to the university and participating in the program.”
Michael Cristalli (May 5th, 2009)
Who is Michael Cristalli, you might be asking?
Well, he was the lawyer for former Oklahoma player Justin Chaisson back in 2009 in a case that involved Chaisson being charged with (among other things) assault with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment and battery with domestic violence.
According to the Las Vegas Sun, these were the details from the police report:
“According to a police report, on March 17, Chaisson forced his 17-year-old ex-girlfriend into the back seat of his sport utility vehicle in a coffee shop parking lot.
The victim told police Chaisson punched her in the ribs and drove her into the desert where he pulled her from the car. She said he then put a screwdriver to her neck and threatened to kill her until two of her friends pulled up on the scene and he forced her into his car again.
According to the police report, the incident ended when one of the two friends called 911 and Chaisson told his ex-girlfriend to exit his vehicle at a storage facility.
The attack on his girlfriend occurred on March 17th, 2009.
Forty-nine days later, with the help of Oklahoma University, according to his lawyer, he pleaded no contest to four gross misdemeanors, instead of the felony charges initially brought against him.
Five weeks later, he was able to enroll at Oklahoma.
Much has been made over the weekend about the handling of current Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon, but for those that have questions about Bob Stoops’ decision-making and handling of the situation, you need to know something … this is who he is. Stoops is an enabler and protector of young men who commit violent crimes and actions, usually against young women.
Stoops is the guy who protected standout defensive tackle Dusty Dvoracek after he put a friend of his into the hospital following a bar fight.
According to the Daily Oklahoman, it was not the first allegation of violent behavior for Dvoracek. Or the second. Yet, not only did Stoops stand by his guy, he worked to get him a medical redshirt and named him one of the captains of the team the following season.
Stoops is the guy who was willing to let former linebacker Franklin Shannon return after being suspended for a season after the school investigated a sexual assault charge through a Title IX investigation. The alleged victim did not press charges, but
the Daily Oklahoman reportedthat the investigation turned up such damaging evidence against Shannon that the investigation panel voted for Shannon to be expelled, only to have OU’s vice president for student affairs lower the punishment because he thought it was too severe. Of course, Shannon was back on the field as soon as Stoops could get him there.
Stoops is the guy who wanted to give shelter to former five-star wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham after Missouri booted him from the program following an incident involving his girlfriend,
which reportedly included him allegedly two-hand shoving her down a flight of stairs. Charges weren’t pressed, but only because the victim refused to press charges in an effort to protect Green-Beckham’s pro career. Text messages from his girlfriend’s phone reported that Green-Beckham “dragged her from the apartment by the neck”
Stoops is the guy who
told us this week that he knew nothingabout star wide receiver Dede Westbook’s two domestic abuse arrests prior to enrolling at Oklahoma, while telling everyone in the same breath that the OU background checks are as good as it gets.
Yes, Stoops is also the guy who saw the video of Mixon breaking a woman’s face and thought that a redshirt year was the kind of punishment that was appropriate for the action.
This is Bob Stoops, a defender, protector and enabler of violent, dangerous men, who often abuse women without remorse, whether they might have kidnapped, raped, punched or shoved a woman down the flight of stairs.
This is also who Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione is, as he’s been there backing Stoops every step of the way since day one. Same with OU president David Boren.
This is who they are.
This is not my opinion. This is their record. It’s there for everyone to see it, if they want to. There’s no need to even speculate on what else might have happened that we’re not aware of (see Dede Westbrook) because, well, how many examples do you need?
Stoops might not be Art Briles, Castiglione might not be Ian McCaw and Boren might not be Ken Starr , but collectively they would appear to place the same exact value on a woman’s safety.
Zero.
http://criminalathletes.blogspot.com
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2007
Tribute to the Texas Longhorns[/paste:font]
As a tribute to the Texas Longhorns, the Criminal Athletes blog has converted our colors from Black to UT Burnt Orange.
Yet another Longhorn was arrested today bringing the total to 6 since June. Which by the way, is two more then Colt McCoy has touchdown passes and two more then the entire team has rushing touchdowns. Give the Horns credit though, they have played powerhouses like Arkansas State and Central Florida.
Mack Brown had this to say about the situation:
"I am really proud of the Texas football program and all it has stood for during our 10 years in Austin," Brown said in his statement. "We've built a great program within the rules with a foundation of integrity, hard work, academic commitment and winning. We unfortunately had a number of student-athletes who have been accused of making poor decisions this past summer, with James' situation joining that group.
"Young people who do not obey the law, University or team rules will continue to be disciplined with a stern hand and we will move forward. We continue to have a zero tolerance policy in that regard. That said, I will put our long-term record of character up against anyone and that's why these situations upset me so much."
Let's review the Longhorns legal problems.
James Henry - Obstruction, Suspended indefinitely - RB with no carries in the first 3 games.
Tyrell Gatewood - Drugs, Suspended indefinitely - DB with 2 tackles in 2 games this year and a total of 12 tackles all of 2006.
Dre Jones - Aggravated Robbery, Suspended indefinitely - True Freshman, not expected to contribute.
Robert Joseph - Aggravated Robbery, Suspended indefinately - Has left the team because of an earlier incident.
Sergio Kindle - DUI, 3 Game Suspension - Recorded 21 tackles and 4 tackles for a loss in 2006, expected to compete for a starting position.
Henry Melton - DUI, 3 Game Suspension - Converted from RB and was expected to start in 2007.
So let's recap the situation... three players that probably would not have contributed to the team this year are suspended indefinitly, two probable starters are both suspended for three cupcake games. So much for Mack's "Zero Tolerance" policy.
