Exit Nate Johnson Comment Count

Ace



[Bryan Fuller]

Sam Webb reported this morning that redshirt freshman cornerback Nate Johnson has been permanently dismissed from the program:

Jim Harbaugh wasted little time taking action after Johnson was arrested early Saturday morning for an alleged assault of a woman he'd been dating. Johnson was arraigned on Sunday on one count of misdemeanor domestic violence.

Johnson came to Michigan in the 2016 class as a slot receiver, then moved to cornerback in the offseason; he featured as a punt returner in the spring game but ceded that job to Donovan Peoples-Jones in the fall. He hadn't seen significant snaps this season on defense.

Comments

Everyone Murders

October 4th, 2017 at 10:06 AM ^

Bad news for the alleged victim (i.e., the incident, not the dismissal), Johnson and the team.  On the bright side, it sounds as though our coaching staff and athletic administration are handling this matters in a way that reflects well on the school, and reinforces a culture of respect.

Hail Harbo

October 4th, 2017 at 6:39 PM ^

Right now, at this instant, it looks like the culture is that players that get in trouble with the law, but are star material, get a HUGE benefit of the doubt.  Whereas players that are having trouble finding their football identity that find themselves in trouble with the law, are easily dismissed.

M Ascending

October 4th, 2017 at 10:37 AM ^

Interesting that he was dismissed so peremptorily even though only charged iwth a misdemeanor.  Either you're right that he admitted to what he had done and the coaching staff felt it was bad enough to warrant dismissal, or he has had other issues that have not been made public and the cumulative conduct was too much to bear.

Either way, it's good to see this being handled promptly and definitively, once the staff decided that action was warranted.

In reply to by ijohnb

big john lives on 67

October 4th, 2017 at 10:55 AM ^

You should not be selling this simple-minded garbage whether you really believe it or are just trying to rile everybody up.

Michigan's discipline has been swift and severe based upon the facts of the case only. Picking and choosing individual cases to suit a flawed premise is unacceptable when you are dealing with other people's integrity. We should be better than that.

ijohnb

October 4th, 2017 at 11:00 AM ^

just kind of kidding around.  Not trying to "rile everybody up."  Not everything that everybody says on a blog should be taken super literally with serious import.  You can't get around the optics here, even if it is not the case at all.  Relax.

In reply to by ijohnb

True Blue Grit

October 4th, 2017 at 11:16 AM ^

without knowing you personally or reading your entire posting history, it's extremely difficult for most of us to know if you're serious or not.  Sometimes, it's easy to tell sarcasm, other times not.  In your post, it was not at all obvious.  Just saying.

ijohnb

October 4th, 2017 at 11:25 AM ^

thought /ducks would do, I guess not.

And I'm not saying it was entirely 100% sarcastic.  Would Nate Johnson be kicked off the team already if he was a standout starter?  I don't know, but it is certainly possible that (as with basically every program in the nation) we may be "waiting for the legal process to play out" in that case.

But I don't know the details of the case.  It was just a mild self-referential quip.  Things have gotten very touchy around here. 

 

ijohnb

October 4th, 2017 at 12:44 PM ^

offensive lineman that I haven't thought of in a while, was Juwan Bushell-Beatty so bad that he cannot be used on a really poorly performing offensive line?  Is he hurt?  It surprises me that a guy who played a lot in big situations last year has not been on the field, particulary when he did not seem that bad last year when he did play.

In reply to by ijohnb

schreibee

October 4th, 2017 at 2:09 PM ^

People can neg ijohnb's "sarcastic" negativity all tbey want, and we can speculate all we want about the particulars of Johnson's assault, but the bottom line is their relative value to the organization played a part in this swift justice.
As it would in virtually any setting...

bronxblue

October 4th, 2017 at 10:28 AM ^

It didn't sound good when it happened, and my guess is Johnson basically admitted enough to the staff that they determined a return wasn't an option.  Glad this was resolved quickly and the victim recovers.

DT76

October 4th, 2017 at 10:45 AM ^

They likely have more info than what has been released.

I like the message this sends to other players and to recruits and their parents. And to the student body and to the world basically.

ComputerEngineer

October 4th, 2017 at 3:40 PM ^

The message this sends to recruits and their parents is that we'll kick you off the team without due process of law.  We care more about public perception than winning games and protecting your future.  We are disloyal, and we don't care about our players.  That's the message it sends to recruits.  It's a terrible message.

 

Unless it comes out that Johnson flat-out told the coaching staff that he socked her in the face because she wouldn't give him a slice of pizza (or something equivalently unjustifiable), punishing him so severely before the case is resolved is not going to play well with recruits.  Even in that case, Johnson confided in the coaches and they sold him down the river.  There's no way to try and spin this as a positive for us.

Oregon Wolverine

October 4th, 2017 at 12:21 PM ^

Because most reports of offenses are not corroborated with physical evidence (does that bruise or black eye reflect self-defense or assault?), objective recordings, or witnesses, most have a subjective element that is often not well teased out by law enforcement or prosecutors when charges are first instituted.

I often counsel clients exactly along the lines of what you suggest: 

WALK AWAY. 

KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT AND WALK AWAY. 

WHEN YOU ARE "CHARGED" OR "FLOODED," THAT'S A SIGN TO TO WALK AWAY AND TAKE A PERSONAL "TIME OUT."

But that's not easy and often that is not enough.  People with volitile relationships or abandonment issues have a tendancy to follow those who walk away, because walking away can "trigger" fear of abandonment, then the loop starts:

Trigger, walk away, triggering the partner into chase, triggering the initial person into walking away faster (or push, strike, etc), more chasing, repeat.  

Allegations of DV and sexual assault, although often "true," are also often very difficult to assess.  Both often come in shattered relationships, long disfunctional histories, and anger/bias going both directions, and the "truth" may reside somewhere else.

(as I mention above, I'm a criminal defense attorney)

LSA91

October 4th, 2017 at 12:35 PM ^

You're both correct.

Don't assault people, but also learn to recognize an emerging conflict and either deescalate or get out.

Even if you're being physically attacked yourself, if you can safely turtle up and leave, do that, whether it's a buddy, a partner or some doofus in a bar. And if you're getting emotionally/verbally attacked, don't escalate. If you escalate a fight, respond in kind, or lay hands on a person, (a) someone can get seriously hurt and (b) you can end up charged.

It's good advice, but I have to admit I didn't appreciate it at 19. I haven't hit anybody since grade school, but in college, I definitely got in people's faces a few times that could have ended up with me getting hit. 

yossarians tree

October 4th, 2017 at 2:36 PM ^

I also purposely avoid placing myself in situations where there are going to be assholes, like a bar I don't know. And I avoid confrontations. And if there is a confrontation I just get the hell out of there. First of all, the guy could be some lunatic or have martial arts training. Second and even more important there are lots of people packing heat these days.

SoccerDancer

October 4th, 2017 at 12:00 PM ^

OR, a thought I might consider potentially more likely given the extremely swift and definitive action is: he "didn't" come fully clean with the coaches and they were presented with facts directly counter to his communication with them.   In which case they immediately washed their hands if he lied/hedged/stretched the truth with them in the slightest. 

Lawyer12

October 4th, 2017 at 4:06 PM ^

You would never permanently dismiss a kid who looked you in the eye and denied wrongdoing. That’s he situation where you suspend him and let the legal process play out. Hence the difference between an allegation and a conviction. Here, he very likely, when asked by the coaches, confirmed his mistakes and was dismissed.

UMgradMSUdad

October 4th, 2017 at 4:05 PM ^

There are also the Title IX ramifications as well, so there really is no way to just wait for the courts to sort this out. He could be kicked out of school well before the legal system works it out. 

 

 

G Money

October 4th, 2017 at 8:24 PM ^

Johnson was going nowhere (switching positions this early generally is a predictive of a non-productive career on the field).



Harbaugh will clear more 'ships than Irma and Katrina.

He is the best at recruiting and maintaining the talent level on the field. For this reason, he will win a NC at Michigan