… somewhere way below that, there’s Southeast Louisiana University, a public school where the taxes of the good people of that state are funding new football recruit Jonathan Taylor.
Taylor, so determinedly criminal-minded that even the University of Georgia and the University of Alabama dismissed him, has been welcomed with open arms by SLU.
Outside the Lines asked [a school spokesman] what SLU’s admission process is for students with criminal records and/or a pending felony charge, to which he responded, “Southeastern Louisiana has no specific admission policy regarding an individual’s police or court records.”
But actually SLU does. Basically, if you haven’t been convicted… of anything … super-serious (murder?) and if your court proceedings are still ongoing (i.e., if you haven’t been convicted yet), c’mon down y’all!
“While we are aware of past controversies, Jonathan has not been found guilty for the incidents he was accused of that led to his dismissal from his prior institutions,” Southeastern Louisiana said in a statement Wednesday.
So here’s Taylor’s student profile.
Domestic violence charges in Alabama against former Georgia defensive lineman Jonathan Taylor were dropped Tuesday as part of a plea agreement.
The 6-foot-4, 335-pound Taylor, who was dismissed from the Bulldogs’ football team last summer, still faces an aggravated assault charge in Athens-Clarke County from a July 2014 incident in which he reportedly choked and struck his girlfriend. He also faces a misdemeanor case of theft by deception in Athens for a cash-checking scheme that involved other Bulldogs players.
Taylor pleaded guilty in Alabama to a misdemeanor count of criminal mischief stemming from an altercation in March with a different woman. The woman, however, recanted her story.
October 1st, 2015 at 4:59AM
I’m not sure I understand the point here. You’re arguing that state institutions should refuse to admit students who are accused of crimes, even if they are acquitted of said crimes?
As an Alabama alum, I supported Saban’s decision to toss Stewart from the team when he was accused of domestic assault, especially given past accusations. But his accuser in this case not only recanted but has herself been charged with a crime for false allegations against Stewart. Should he really not be allowed to go to school because someone falsely accused him?
October 1st, 2015 at 6:17AM
James: I’m assuming we’re talking here about Taylor (you write Stewart). Details on that incident:
Did you support Saban’s initial recruitment of someone so violent that when the Athens police chief showed the University of Georgia athletic director photos of the victim’s injuries she was so appalled that she immediately dismissed Taylor? Did you know that the Univ. of Georgia tried to show Saban and his staff the photos but they seem to have passed on it?
Of course universities should be as merciful as they can be in admitting people with crimes in their past. We’re talking about a whole other level here.
October 1st, 2015 at 6:15PM
USA Today (hey, I was flying today and got it for free) had an article about how UGA actually has tried to do things right and has probably lost competitive advantage in the SEC as a consequence (the University Prez actually has quite a nice quotation about how maybe winning doesn’t need to matter that much). Guys who get in trouble with the law get in legit trouble and usually kicked off of the football team. We’ll see if recent developments change that approach, but I’m not certain it’s entirely fair to lump Georgia with ‘Bama, never mind some of these other schools. (Perhaps it is not a coincidence that Georgia has a pretty good academic reputation as well?) In other words, “even the University of Georgia” seems unfair, or at least flattens out the implied accusation so as to make it meaningless.
dcat
October 1st, 2015 at 6:50PM
Omg, that interviewer. So a male athlete kisses a female at a party and she objects to it…. Right. That is what we are talking about here.