Sad State of affairs

I don't know enough about the situation.

What do you think they should do?

If he were my kid the school and whomever would have nothing to say about it-- HE WOULD NOT BE PLAYING--in fact he might have a problem walking after I got done with him--

It is called OLD SCHOOL PARENTING !!!! And it still works

There has to be a code of conduct. I wouldn't want my kid on the same field as that thug. He may not have any prior arrests, but my bet is that is because he's never been caught. My god, he admitted he fired the gun at the guy. Not even the most liberal bleeding heart can back this kids request.

To rz1: Since you're posting from Madison,WI you are an expert on 'liberal bleeding hearts'!!!

Discipline begins at home folks

This is the best example of the detrimental use of the no transfer for athletic reasons rule. Bragg is not interested in what the kid is charged with, he is only interested that the kid left his team. What hypocrisy to claim that rules are rules.

The Lancaster coach would have the ethical dilemna of deciding if he will play him. Be sure that if he doesn't, there will be a federal lawsuit.

In this country, we are presumed innocent until prove guilty. Once he pleads 'not guilty' , the burden of proof falls on the district attorney to prove guilt. He would be allowed all freedoms and priviledges under the presumption of innocence. (That is within the restrictions set by the courts.ankle band)

We may not always agree but this is the Constitutional right of every USA citizen.

What a line, "I don't want to keep the kid from playing, but rules are rules." Seems like the scorned coach rule.

gotwood,

I am the cities counter weight that keeps reality in sight

Allowing hoodlums to participate in sports activities makes the adage that sports builds character, a farce.

I would check this kid for steriod abuse. We had a kid here in our county that was non-violent, good student, and great baseball player. Began taking steroids, smoking dope, and turned bad. Got in altercations with his parents, coaches, and students. Had a complete personality change and finally committed suicide.

The incidents of kids going bad has a lot to do with the crowd thye are hanging out with and the substances they are ingesting into their bodies. We are jsut beginning to see the tip of the iceberg.

This kid needs an intervention of the highest order, boot camp, or compulsary military style living institution.

In the old days a kid like this would have been given two choices, jail or the marines. Works for me, but our society has become to enlightened to deal with immoral behavior.

He should receive no preferential treatment and if convicted he should serve his time. After serving his time he should be treated as just what he is...a convicted felon. Someone can take a chance on him then but not now if he is guilty of this crime. If Texas high school rules do not permit him to participate in sports while his case is being tried then that is the consequence to his extremely bad judgment. Being lenient with him now would be a disservice to both him and society. If convicted, and while cooling his heels in jail, a more deserving athlete will be given a chance to contibute to his team and society. Give this good kid the support!

Sport is a form of combat where the loser isn't killed.

We may say all these nice things, but in reality, sport is the pursuit of vanquishing your opponent. Similar to the military, the discipline, training and the being all that you can be, helps to develop character.

If this individual is found guilty, he is not a hoodlum, he is a criminal. Hoodlums are usually kids with no sense of direction and too much free time.

To rz1: You have my utmost respect and gratitude for taking on that challenge in Madison. Keep up the good work and don't be shy about calling for support!

"This may be his only route to a college education. Who are we to take that away, by making him sit out?" Lewis asked.

If it were Lewis or his kid that was robbed at gunpoint we all know he'd be singing a very different tune.

unreal

According to a police report, Jackson admitted taking part in the robberies of six people at gunpoint during two incidents Jan. 18 in Garland and Mesquite.


Regret, remorse, sorry whatever does not enter into the equation. Somethings cant be undone, there are consequences. Playing ball is the absolute least of this confused kids problems.

Imagine:
No sweat kid, point a gun at six more and rob them, you can still be a football hero as well as a violent criminal.

sheesh....

This is just an example of how bad tings have become. Yes I am an older poster on this board and yes I have shown my age with previous posts telling what it was like way back when. Well way back when this would be a no brainer. But since we hav progressed so much during the ensuing years we are talking about this situation now.

It seems that most are missing the irony in this situation.This individual is charged with a felony that could put him in jail for 99 years. The criminal case is pending.

The sad reality is that a high school coach is only concerned with keeping the kid from playing football against his team by using the 'scorned coaches rule'. Bragg never mentions the crime, he only mentions that the kid transferred for athletic reasons. In the eyes of the scorned coach, the kid should be punished first for breaking his heart and then for his criminal behavior.

The coach's priorities are definitely messed up.

quote:

Originally posted by TRhit:
If he were my kid the school and whomever would have nothing to say about it-- HE WOULD NOT BE PLAYING--in fact he might have a problem walking after I got done with him--

It is called OLD SCHOOL PARENTING !!!! And it still works

Worked when I was kid, seems to be working with my kids.

If you don't care what others think of you and you want to live a criminal lifestyle and not get punished, there are two safe havens: sports and politics.

My kid played ball this summer with an admitted "sexual batterer" who continued his high school career after ajudication. I just figured he hit the big time. That kid really gave me the "willies".

Williebobo

A hoodlum is synonomous with thug, an individual that is a strong arm, sometimes hired out to commit murder, vulgar and lawless.

Hoodlum is not viewed today as it was in previous eras of our society. For a small fraction of our youth it is a style fashion plate that means you hang with your peers that listen to rap/hip/hop, and dress a certain way. It stems from some of our youth who have taken upon themselves to diss "the man" by showing solidarity with their "brothers" in our penitentiaries, using sagging pants, because belts are not allowed there, and other identifiable markings that are normally found in the "racially oriented" cell blocks.

These individuals have no place in sports. If I was running things, you would have one choice, clean up your act, or find somewhere else to waste your time.

Ramrod,

Prisoners can get pants that fit. They wear their pants pulled down as an indication that they will not fight you if you want to make them your girl friend. (Got from former prisoner who is now preacher).

Also, played a team from the Atlanta area this season called "Jack City" they were the most fowl mouthed bunch of thugs I have ever seen. I told their coach (who claims to be a scout for the Atlanta Braves) what I thought of his team and he said I am from the South Side of Chicago so I am the only thug on this team. Here is the tag line from the move NEW JACK CITY..."They're a new breed of gangster. The new public enemy. The new family of crime." I am guessing that is where they got their team name.

I find this unbelievable, however in the great United States we live in, you are innocent until proven guilty, even if you admit it.

How about this one, UM gives an offer to a player and later finds out he was involved in the trashing of a hotel while on a visit on UF and a whole bunch of arrests during his short lifespan. But UM stated he was a fine player.

All I can say is that we told my son who is a pitcher if he really messed up so bad it caused embarrasment to his family he would never play ball in college or beyond due to two broken arms and legs from us. I never had to hit my son in his whole life, but our statement sent a strong message. I still consider him on warning until he reaches his career goals.

Unbelievable story. This wasn't exactly a case of "kids being kids" as stated by the coach in the article. If this was my son, he nor coach would have to worry about him being on a team! That would be the least of his worries, I can assure you. He wouldn't have time for a team as he'd be working in soup kitchens, picking up litter, scrubbing my floors, etc. while he was waiting for his official day in court. By the time I finished with him - he'd wish to go to jail!

The term hoodlum was originally used to describe a misbehaved child, a loafer, or a rowdy street kid, but more recently, it came to refer to a small-time criminal, thug, or gangster.

These kids had no sense of direction and too much free time. Sports programs were used to involve them in socially acceptable activities. A hoodlum has the most oportunity to become a small-time criminal, thug, or gangster since he has no sense of direction. The shortened form hood is first recorded about 1880, though it wasn't in common use until the late 1920s.

Newspapers in the 1880's said, "This sudden efflorescence of a sharply defined criminal class among boys--for the Hoodlum first appeared only three or four years ago--is somewhat alarming...Nowhere else are the restraints of parental authority so lax as here...Their children are allowed to run wild, learn slang at their mother's breast...and prattle in the jargon of the street."

Where will this end...in private leagues, with new rules, the rules that should apply in our public institutions, but isn't allowed now because the liberal "anything goes" segment of our society won't allow it.

A good portion of our society are still sane, moral people and based upon the way things are going it's inevitable that we will organize other venues for our children to participate in that exclude the malcreants and hoodlums. Mother's and father's are not going to continue to put their children at risk, just to satisfy the ACLU.

If we don't we are asking for the worse outcome that will inevitably happen, and that is a complete lockdown of our society and its extracurricular activities.

Another perfect scUM recruit waiting to happen.

Gotta agree with the "tough love" posters. He might be a great kid who got caught up in a bad situation, but he wouldn't have to worry about playing because he would never have been able to post bail ($45,000)!

As the saying goes: If you can't do the time, don't do the crime!

Quote from the Lancaster Coach, Jackson, "

"We're doing what's best for the kid, not what's best for the coaches association or best for society."

note his comment about "society"!!

The kid was in jail from Jan 19 til Mar. 16...How did he pass 11th grade? You have to score 70 or above ...How can that be when you are out of school 1/2 of the spring semester. Texas Education Agency mandates that if you don't pass Spirng semester, the you repeat the year...I'm going to check on this aspect of this situation. Supposedly a 3.53 before he was jailed.

Jackson's attorney, Allen, says...
"I'm not going to plead a kid of his character to the penitentiary".

OH MY GOD!!

Mom in West Dallas, one of the poorest, highest crime, gang & drug riden areas of Texas. No wonder she let him live with sister in Mesquite. But he blew it! That didn't work, so now he's in Lancaster with uncle, wearing an ankle moniter, awaiting trial.
So the school districts & UIL are "contemplating" him yet another chance???
Somebody wake up!! The kid is a criminal!

And again RR (PIC) brings race into it---

Who mentioned race? Only RR---lose the chip pal!!!

and you talk to me about going off the thread---

too often that road is a dead end
ex Pitt player kills teen

TPM, "innocent until proven guilty" only refers to his status regarding the Court & State

I can't help but wonder if the outcome of this killing would have changed had Pitt prosecuted him & thrown him in jail when he was just a "robber" instead of just dismissing him from school

Bee,
I actually was trying to be funny about the innocent until proven guilty.
For me this is outrageous, I am the type who believes a kid should get kicked off teh team for just having an attitude!
Until ALL public schools, colleges and universities adopt zero tolerance with this type of thing, this will continue, and they will continue to play.

Whether he should be allowed to play football is the subject of debate.

Lancaster school officials said he can play if the University Interscholastic League grants his request for a transfer waiver from North Mesquite High School, where he played for three seasons.

Standing in the way is a document signed by North Mesquite coach Steve Bragg, who said on a UIL form that Jackson's transfer was for athletic purposes. If the UIL agreed, Jackson would be ineligible.

"I'm not trying to keep the kid from playing," Mesquite coach Bragg said. "But there are rules."

Both cited the Texas High School Coaches Association code of ethics.

Association executive director D.W. Rutledge said he was not aware of Jackson's case. He said the organization does not enforce its code.

"There is nothing we could or would do to penalize the coach," Rutledge said. "It either is or isn't ethical. Your consequences are, you are not ethical."

The UIL requires transfers not living with either a parent or a legal guardian to explain why the move was involuntary and unavoidable.

Lawrence has a letter from the Dallas County Community Supervision and Corrections Department that says Jackson must live at his Lancaster home as part of a court order.

Lancaster coach Andrew Jackson (no relation to Brandon) has welcomed Brandon to his team.

Principal Phill Randle and Lancaster ISD Superintendent Dr. Larry D. Lewis said they support coach Jackson's stance. Lewis said that to enroll at Lancaster, Jackson completed the district's alternative education program.

Lewis said he's talked to Jackson's uncle and mother and has reviewed the court documents. He said Jackson should be allowed to play football.

"My question is, why shouldn't he play?" Lewis said. "You're innocent until proven guilty. Our job is to educate students and give them another chance."

Lewis said he respects the THSCA but doesn't agree with its stance.

"This may be his only route to a college education. Who are we to take that away, by making him sit out?" Lewis asked.

"We're doing what's best for the kid, not what's best for the coaches association or best for society."

Again I ask the question--where are the parents in this matter? --my kid would be begging me for mercy !!!

After living with his sister last year in Mesquite while his mother lived in West Dallas, Jackson moved in with an uncle, Charles Lawrence, on March 16 after getting out of jail.

Apparently this kid has no 'parents' in the sense that we associate. There is no mention of a father, only a mother who cannot seem to care for him. I'm not excusing his actions in the crime as a societal issue. His youth seems to have been spent as a transient. I don't know.

My entire issue is that the crime is not the issue in why this kid is being questioned as it relates to the sport. It is Coach Bragg's grievance that the transfer was for athletic reasons. Seems awful petty in light of the more serious issues.