Parole Tide

Nick Saban hasn't lost in Baton Rouge since 2010. That included this past weekend where a Louisiana judge granted him over 2 million dollars on a loan that he dealt out to developer. The developer couldn't make good on his loan for a shopping center and offered Saban ownership of a  real estate venture in Louisiana. Due to his now notoriety in the area he replied, "Fuck you, pay me." The IRS was trying to block Saban's 2 million loan payback plus interest but we all know what happens when you try to block Bama in Baton Rouge. 

Saban wins even in the preseason. Rightfully so too, the man is building dynasties off the field as well. Nick owns a couple of Mercedes dealerships, a strip mall in Michigan, and apartments in Houston. But this isn't the first time Alabama has had a run in with the law. 

Tide players are no strangers to jewelry. Since his arrival players have gotten rings from six SEC Championships and five National Championships. But today I'd like to acknowledge some of the silver bracelets players have had slapped on throughout the his tenure. 

It is important for me to state that I truly believe in a system where you are innocent until proven guilty. Hell, I've even sworn to protect those rights. By no means am I saying that these players got out of trouble due to status. I am also not stating that nothing happened to the alleged victims. I am simply writing down incidents and their outcomes. 

We'll start with the freshest one, Deionte Thompson. Thompson was indicted on felony aggravated assault in 2017 for a spring break fight that left an 18 year old with permanent plates in his face. The victim claims it was Thompson who kicked him while he was down and caused his facial injuries. Thompson and his lawyers stressed his innocence throughout the case and Deionte went on to start this season as a consensus All-American. The case was dismissed today, there was no video evidence, and apparently a couple of eye-witnesses attested to Thompson's non-involvement. Deionte is expected to go in the lottery picks in this April's draft. The skeptic in me says if a Bama player was going to kick something he'd probably miss. 

Keeping with the Louisiana trend we'll turn to Cam Robinson. Cam Robinson and Hootie Jones were arrested in Louisiana when marijuana and a firearm were found in their car at a park. The judge ruled there was insufficient evidence to know who the findings belonged to. I shit you not this is the statement the judge released. "I want to emphasize once again that the main reason I'm doing this is that I refuse to ruin the lives of two young men who have spent their adolescence and teenage years, working and sweating, while we were all in the air conditioning." Hell of a precedent dude. No way this judge was ever allowed to hear a possession case again. Cam went on to start all three years he played for Alabama. Even though earlier mock drafts that year had him going as high as top 5, the Jaguars wound up trading up to the 34th pick to take him. 

I truly thought that Da'shawn Hand was one day going to be the best player on Alabama's defense. That was never the case for the former 5 star, even after he showed potential in his Sophmore season with 6.5 sacks in 8 games. In 2017, Da'shawn was charged with a DUI by police who found him asleep in a car near campus with the keys in the ignition. Now technically speaking, that's a DUI. He operated the vehicle while under the influence. Hand was never suspended for his charge but here's what Saban had to say on the matter. "Da'Shawn put himself in a bad situation, obviously made a mistake being where he was at the time. But the fact that he didn't drive the car which is what we tell the players not to do and it's not ok that he was drinking, with me, and that's a behavioral issue that needs to be addressed, and we will address it, but the fact that he didn't drive the car and wasn't driving the car and didn't put other people at risk, which to me is the most significant thing when you drive under the influence but he didn't drive." When you say "he didn't drive" a hundred times like that my brain automatically translates that as "he absolutely drove,". Don't matter either way, Saban probably ripped him so many new assholes he didn't know which one was the original.

Strap yourselves in for Courtney Upshaw. I wasn't there, but apparently Upshaw and his girlfriend were involved in a dispute outside of the rec center where the girlfriend slapped him a few times and he grabbed her by the back of the neck. Both were locked up for a domestic. While his baby girl was tied up in legal issues here's what the father of the girlfriend told AL.com, "The cops just happened to be there and see it and then took them both in. I hate to see this guy get in too much trouble because I  honestly think it was probably initiated by my daughter. I don't think he laid a hand on her. He just tried to restrain her to keep from getting hit again." Again, this is completely plausible and it's possible that that's exactly what happened. However! This man was LOBBYING against his own daughter. Tuscaloosa News reported that the father walked out of the court room and screamed "ROLL TIDE" when both charges were dismissed.     

There have been other players to tour the backseat of a cop car under Saban's reign, but these were the 5 star or highly valued draft picks. There's a saying in Alabama, "There's your story, their story, and Saban's story.", or at least it should be a saying. Who's to say what really happens. Are these just bad kids? Are they given too much fame at a young age that it comes ridden with entitlement? Or are these good kids, put in bad situations where someone knows they can harm them and seriously jeopardize their future, exploiting them through bad press? Just yesterday Deondre Francois, FSU quarterback, was dismissed for a domestic video that his ex girlfriend posted. Today she said she made the whole thing up. If the only options are crimes being covered up or innocent players are being framed, then both avenues are equally terrifying.

Oh by the way that GIF up there is Rueben Foster. Two domestic violence charges, two domestic cases dismissed.