OT: Arrest Warrant for LSU QB Jefferson

Submitted by Dreisbach1817 on

I thought this new development warranted its own post.

Via Twitter:

Randy Rosetta by AndrewJBone- BREAKING: BRPD has issued arrest warrants for #LSU QB Jordan Jefferson and LB Josh Johns. 2nd-degree battery, which is a felony.

 
Could this derail the team or does  Zach Mettenberger save LSU's season?  I also heard Mettenberger was held up at gun point this past week. 
 
 

Darth Wolverine

August 26th, 2011 at 11:22 AM ^

I think this is a very bad thing for LSU. A lot of people have criticized Jefferson for his performance, but I think he has been solid and he knows the offense. LSU has been a top ten team for a while now, so I don't know why people would criticize Jefferson so much. I know LSU has had a great defense for a while now, but their offense does just enough to win games, sort of like the luckiest team in the history of sports, the 2002 OSU Buckeyes.

BiSB

August 26th, 2011 at 11:27 AM ^

It's the same phenomenon that makes the back-up goalie the most popular person on any given Red Wings team.  People tend to say, "this guy has problems," and they gloss over the "...but if he goes down, the guy behind him is worse" part.

Jefferson isn't perfect, but if he misses significant time it will hurt LSU like a kick in the face.

/too soon?

Tater

August 26th, 2011 at 11:23 AM ^

Apparently, the staff telling the police that the "victim" attacked the players isn't enough to counter their appitite for a high-profile arrest.  

JClay

August 26th, 2011 at 11:28 AM ^

If I throw a punch at someone, they have a right to punch me back in defense. They do not have a right to kick me in the head repeatedly once I fall down.

theyellowdart

August 26th, 2011 at 11:47 AM ^

 

 Sorry, I'm not buying it.  I don't disagree that when you're in a clear frame of mind with no emotions, yeah you wouldn't kick someone when they go down.

 

 However, in the heat of the moment... I don't buy most people would actually be thinking that way (Some without question would).   When your emotions are running high after being attacked first, you easily will do something that you would never think you would do otherwise.   And kicking someone in the head after they go down isn't really a rare sight to see  in those situations.

 

 Now, I understand that Football players are different, they are held to a different standard, and they have to not let their emotions get the best of them.    And I'm also not trying to pull a "blame the victim" here either.   But I'm not going to feel bad for the guy getting his head kicked in, nor do I think that JJ really did something that horridly wrong.

profitgoblue

August 26th, 2011 at 12:03 PM ^

Let me flesh out your assertion and find some limits.  If I read you correctly, in your mind, kicking someone in the head when he is subdued is okay.  (Its not lawful in any state, but nevermind that for a minute.)  By your reasoning, is stabbing a guy okay if he punches you?  How about shooting him, maybe not kill him, but just seriously wound him?  Do you see where I'm going? 

There's such thing as self-defense and it is a mitigating factor in a criminal case, but this clearly went WAAAAAY beyond self-defense if you're kicking someone on the ground.  C'mon man.  The only thing your argument proves is that you may have kicked someone on the ground and are now feeling guilty about it (kidding - but not really).

 

theyellowdart

August 26th, 2011 at 1:05 PM ^

 

 Which makes my post seem far far more apologetic and "it's OK' then I meant it too.  

 I am not, in any way, saying that it's OK to kick someone in the head when they are subdued, even if they attacked you first.

 Nor am I saying a single thing about this being OK in the terms of self defense... it's not.

 What I was trying to explain and say was, in the heat of the moment, when you're emotions are running high, and after someone just attacked you that you're not necessarily in a clear state of mind.  It's not that you're trying to be a huge douche and kicking someone when you're down, you're simpling far more fired up, and not thinking clear headed, and you end up doing something you normally wouldn't do (e.g. Kicking someone in the head.)

 

 I wasn't, and I'm not, trying to remove any guilt from the situation.   (And no, I've never kicked someone when they were down :)  But I have gone on tilt in my life.)

jtmc33

August 26th, 2011 at 12:18 PM ^

At 5'8 160lbs I believe I have the right to fight until the threat is ended. However, I think that kicking, biting, titty-twisting and hair-pulling is fair game for me in a one-on-one brawl. Sounds like the 6'4 220 lb Jefferson and his 6 LSU teammates shouldn't have the same claim for such a defense

bronxblue

August 26th, 2011 at 1:01 PM ^

Yeah, the marine sounds like a little bit of a hothead who might have instigated the confrontation, but from a legal perspective once Jefferson was no longer in fear of imminent harm (I would say that happened some time between having 6-7 very large buddies surround him and the 2nd/3rd kick to the downed guy), he lost any of the self-defense arguments for what he did afterwards.

I doubt Miles will do much on his own; the university president and general public sentiment will shame him into benching the kid for a couple of games, but Jefferson will remain on this team as long as possible because otherwise LSU goes from a top-5 team to a meh program in the SEC.  

BiSB

August 26th, 2011 at 11:32 AM ^

Instigation isn't a defense to anything that happens afterward.  People can defend themselves if they are punched, but they aren't given carte blanc based on someone else starting it.

If it was two guys fighting mano-a-mano, ye olde school fisticuffs style, and they only charged one guy, that'd be BS.  But if one guy is up against multiple guys, and they beat his ass and kick him in the head, that's battery, brotha.

Blue in Yarmouth

August 26th, 2011 at 12:30 PM ^

on my work computer I can't access any of the articles on this so i am wondering how it was a bunch of footbal players against one guy? From what has been shared it says four guys went to hospital with injuries (none of them football players) so it was obviously not a bunch of guys against 1. 

I got negged for this before and will likely again, but if this was a brawl with a bunch of guys fighting because one of their "boys" got punched by some drunk Marine I can't say I find anything horribly worng with it.

I mean...maybe I just come from a tougher neighborhood than most of you, but a guy getting kicked in the head after starting a fight isn't all that uncommon here. When I grew up if you started a fight you didn't expect it to be over until someone was unconscious. Sometimes it didn't end that way, but that is what you expected. 

The guy knew they were football players (he said that in his statement to police) so what did he think was going to happen when he punched one of them in the head? 

Also, I'm not saying I think they SHOULD have kicked the guy in the head, but I also don't find it that horrifying that it happened. The guy started the fight, he needs to live with the consequences.

bronxblue

August 26th, 2011 at 1:06 PM ^

Self defense is far more limited a legal defense than it is portrayed in the media.  If the guy really did take the first swing, Jefferson (probably - since LA is common-law, I'm not sure about how they constitute defenses) had the right to defend himself in kind, but my understanding is that you should always be trying to get away from danger.  When you are surrounded by friends and one drunk guy is wildly swining at you, you are not in grave imminent harm for long, and sticking around to kick the guy's head in when it is clear he poses no harm means Jefferson is very close, if not guilty of, assault and battery.

I'm sure he will walk with a relatively light sentence, but this is not going to disappear just because Jefferson shows the guy took a swing at him.

Mr Miggle

August 26th, 2011 at 11:40 AM ^

The manager doesn't even identify Jefferson as being in the fight. He only saw him standing and watching. He saw how it started because he jumped in the back of a pickup truck to get a good view? Maybe he's credible, maybe it's bad for business for players to get into trouble there.

Beavis

August 26th, 2011 at 11:45 AM ^

Guy who was curb'd was a marine.  Not good for Jefferson.  Marines are crazy and their alumni base is certainly larger than LSU football player alumni.