High school athlete sentenced to "no sports"

[Oggiedoggie]

An odd sentence that might cost a college education.

And this ruling comes on the heels of the heat-death aquittal, a decision that's kind of flown under the radar.

Applause turned to gasps in a Butler County courtroom Thursday as a judge announced an unusual punishment for a Middletown track and football star: Dwayne "Deejay" Hunter is forbidden from playing organized sports during his five-year probation for a felonious assault conviction.


"We're going to see who Dwayne Hunter the person is, not who Dwayne Hunter the star athlete is," declared Judge Andrew Nastoff, as he said Hunter still has a six-year prison sentence that would be imposed if he violates any conditions of his probation.

Nastoff had warned Hunter: "You're 19 years old. And you are standing right here, six inches away from a prison number and the potential to go away to prison for eight years - that's two presidential terms. You are right there," the judge said, drawing his index finger and thumb within an inch of each other.

From: http://communitypress.cincinnati.com/article/AB/20090917/NEWS0107/909180382

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

Wonder if that will be appealed?


The kid is 19? He has to be a senior, right?

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

Good. Take away stuff he actually cares about and force him to grow up.

 

[JR]

OK, the caption on one of the photos linked in the story, reads "In an orange jail uniform, the color of the University of Tennessee,....."

FUN WITH CAPTIONS!!

 

[Yodel]

OK, the caption on one of the photos linked in the story, reads "In an orange jail uniform, the color of the University of Tennessee,....."

FUN WITH CAPTIONS!!

That line was great. Wow.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

OK, the caption on one of the photos linked in the story, reads "In an orange jail uniform, the color of the University of Tennessee,....."

FUN WITH CAPTIONS!!

Nah, just the Fulmer Cup.

 

[mustangj17]

Good. Take away stuff he actually cares about and force him to grow up.

Great instead of playing sports, he can spend his time being a hooligan!

 

[outofplace]

Good. Take away stuff he actually cares about and force him to grow up.

I couldn't disagree more, at least not in the way the judge did it. Take it away for a year, but give him a chance to earn it back after that.

By doing this, the judge is taking away an important source of structure and discipline in the kid's life. He is taking away a source of motivation to straighten himself out. He is also likely taking away a college scholarship, which just makes it tougher for the kid to become a productive member of society. Basically, I think he is making it a hell of a lot more likely that the kid does end up serving that jail time someday soon.

I did a story a few years back on academic eligibility standards at the high school level. We thought they were kind of low going into the story, but to a person everyone we spoke with said that permanently taking the sport away from a struggling student is a terrible idea. This was from talking to administrators and teachers as well as coaches, athletes and former athletes. They all said that the kid is more likely to pack it in and quit than grow up and start doing things the right way.

This is obviously a different problem, but the same issues apply.

 

[expendable]

I agree, OOP. A sentence in a post-grad Military Academy might work out better for the kid. As it is, I give him the week to be on his way to prison.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

Good. Take away stuff he actually cares about and force him to grow up.

Great instead of playing sports, he can spend his time being a hooligan!

Wrong. He also has 500 hours of community service to work off — which he can do by, among other things, coaching youth sports — and he's required to either get into either full-time school or a full-time job along with mental-health counseling ... and that's after he sits in county jail until just before Thanksgiving. If he doesn't meet those terms, he goes to prison for eight years.

Supposedly he had a 3.4 GPA in high school. I figure he can get through college without being worshipped for his athletic ability.

 

[partain]

Nice to know we're not the only ones costing kids scholarships.

 

[Gator]

Nice to know we're not the only ones costing kids scholarships.

Now that's funny, only because I've heard it a thousand times. But I think this sentence is perfect. All this kid has is sports, and you need to send a message. If he ends up back in jail, it was merely an inevitability.

 

[Yodel]

Nice to know we're not the only ones costing kids scholarships.

Great. That was beautiful.

 

[outofplace]

Good. Take away stuff he actually cares about and force him to grow up.

Great instead of playing sports, he can spend his time being a hooligan!

Wrong. He also has 500 hours of community service to work off — which he can do by, among other things, coaching youth sports — and he's required to either get into either full-time school or a full-time job along with mental-health counseling ... and that's after he sits in county jail until just before Thanksgiving. If he doesn't meet those terms, he goes to prison for eight years.

Supposedly he had a 3.4 GPA in high school. I figure he can get through college without being worshipped for his athletic ability.

If you think that is all a kid gets out of sports, I'm probably wasting my time discussing it with you.

I'm not saying he can't get by without athletics. I'm saying, based on my experience and what I have been told by many people with practical knowledge over the years, the judge just made it more likely that this kid is going to fail than succeed.

If you want to get his attention by taking sports away, do it for minimum of a year, with the understanding that he can return to athletics with perfect behavior. Make it motivational as well as punitive.

 

[outofplace]

Nice to know we're not the only ones costing kids scholarships.

Now that's funny, only because I've heard it a thousand times. But I think this sentence is perfect. All this kid has is sports, and you need to send a message. If he ends up back in jail, it was merely an inevitability.

No, it wasn't, but the judge just made it a hell of a lot more likely.

 

[spnited]

Apparently, Hunter was a Tennessee recruit and has multiple legal issues:

http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/middletown-news/hunter-now-faces-additional-legal-issues-115777.html

 

[Shark_Juumper]

He allegedly assaulted an ex-girlfriend at the prom. Her parents had a restraining order against him.

http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/crime/mother-daughter-lucky-to-be-alive-115778.html

I understand the structure and benefits for many kids who participate in sports. But this kid makes me wonder if he was given many passes because he was good at sports.

 

[outofplace]

He allegedly assaulted an ex-girlfriend at the prom. Her parents had a restraining order against him.

http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/crime/mother-daughter-lucky-to-be-alive-115778.html

I understand the structure and benefits for many kids who participate in sports. But this kid makes me wonder if he was given many passes because he was good at sports.

Then put him in jail if he is such a bad kid. But if the intent is to push him to be a better person, which is what the judge seems to be saying here, then I think he picked the wrong approach.

 

[expendable]

Willie Mays Hayes: What the hell league you been playing in?
Rick Vaughn: California Penal...
Willie Mays Hayes: Never heard of it. How'd you end up playing there?
Rick Vaughn: Stole a car.

 

[User 4332]

He allegedly assaulted an ex-girlfriend at the prom. Her parents had a restraining order against him.

http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/crime/mother-daughter-lucky-to-be-alive-115778.html

I understand the structure and benefits for many kids who participate in sports. But this kid makes me wonder if he was given many passes because he was good at sports.

Then put him in jail if he is such a bad kid. But if the intent is to push him to be a better person, which is what the judge seems to be saying here, then I think he picked the wrong approach.

He is being put in jail for 180 days. And it doesn't sound to me like the judge's intent was as much about making him a better person as it was about crafting a fitting punishment that involved less prison time than the judge thought the crime warranted.

In the rest of the story, the judge sounds pretty damn pissed off and like he wanted to give the kid a much lengthier sentence but was lenient because the victim asked for leniency.