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K Jonathan Skeete (official thread)

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as i posted in the rumor mill, he has told me before that he will be back on the team. From what i hear he's an incredibly smart kid with a helluva leg. hopefully he's learned his lesson because if he hasnt, then I think it'll be a shit storm of epic porportions(edit: spelling just looks wrong..).
 
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ok, points have been made folks. threads are for productive discussion not for specualtion. if you have new information that is more than welcome. if you have a thought on jon this is not the place. if you have thoughts on drugs, the criminal process, or what should be an equitable punishment or the indemnity of an individual the poli forum is the place...
 
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From this morning's PlainDealer.....

Skeete back:

Kicker Jonathan Skeete, who was removed from the team after an arrest for marijuana trafficking in May and later pleaded guilty to one charge of felony drug trafficking, is with the team as a walk-on candidate.

"He's trying out," Tressel said. "He was readmitted to the university, therefore he should get any right of any other student."

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

[email protected], 216-999-4479
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Dispatch

3/7/06

OSU FOOTBALL

Skeete back on team after drug-trafficking conviction

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Ken Gordon
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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Jonathan Skeete’s attorney says his client is prepared for the criticism he knows will come from Ohio State’s decision to allow him back on the football team.

In October, the kicker from Gahanna was found guilty of fifth-degree felony drug trafficking. He was sentenced to a year’s probation.

Skeete was suspended from OSU upon his arrest in May but reapplied to school when his suspension expired and was readmitted.

Coach Jim Tressel decided that because Skeete met the terms required to get back into school, "he should get every right of any other student."

His scholarship was stripped when he was suspended, so Skeete is a walk-on.

Skeete, 19, did not return phone calls. His attorney, John Waddy, painted a picture of a contrite teenager who deserved a second chance.

"We certainly expect people to disagree" with letting Skeete return, Waddy said. "I’m not saying this as justification, this is a kid who made a terrible mistake. But the university is willing to forgive that mistake, so should we throw away the key and never allow him to be part of society?

"I don’t think that’s what the university wants or what the general population wants."

Last spring, former tight end Louis Irizarry contacted Tressel about returning to the team after he served a six-month sentence for felony assault. Tressel told Irizarry that would not be possible.

The difference between that case and Skeete’s is that when a student is convicted of a violent crime, he is suspended for at least one year and must appeal to the Board of Trustees in order to be reinstated.

Skeete originally was charged with two counts of trafficking. Columbus police said Skeete sold marijuana to undercover officers earlier in the year.

The second charge was dropped when Skeete pleaded guilty to the first. He could have been given up to one year in prison and a $2,500 fine but was sentenced to probation in December.

Skeete redshirted in 2004. He kicked two field goals and an extra point in the spring game last year.

He faces a tough fight to make the team. He will be competing with scholarship kickers Ryan Pretorius and Aaron Pettrey as the Buckeyes look to replace departing senior Josh Huston.

"He’s trying out, kind of like five or six other guys that we’ve allowed to walk on and try out in the spring," Tressel said. "We allow a lot of extra people to do that, because we have roster size limits in the fall, and sometimes it’s better for us to say, ‘We’d better get a look at a guy to see if he can make our 105-(man limit) than not,’ and all the sudden a guy doesn’t get an opportunity."

In a letter Waddy wrote to Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Daniel Hogan before sentencing last fall, he said Skeete apologized to Tressel, OSU players and fans.

"He stands tall and admits to the ‘stain’ of disrespect and illegality that he visited upon OSU," Waddy wrote. "He knows his apology is insignificant, but he continues to offer his apology to everyone."

[email protected]
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I think we can all rest easy on this one.

Coach Tressel has a set of values, which include putting the student-athlete first in all circumstances. Putting Ohio State's reputation at risk at a time when the Buckeyes have a good chance of a run on a national championship puts all of the student-athletes on the team at risk.

In my opinion, this is one coach who will carefully weigh up his options and make a decision that benefits everyone. No one want to enter that media storm ever again. We don't need or want that attention. Coach Tressel knows that. So, if Skeete's back on the team, then a decision has been made that it will not lead to the storm many of us might expect.
 
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strohs said:
Lets hope he makes the best of this opportunity.
Also, I am sure JT would never have let him make the team had there been any lingering questions as to his character...
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I guess I disagree with this one. I don't believe Coach T requires that a player "pass a character test" before getting an opportunity on the team. I believe that the Coach instead sees participation in his Ohio State Buckeye football team as an opportunity for his young charges to develop the strength of character necessary to succeed later in life, regardless of what shortcomings they may have coming in.

Evidence supporting this point of view isn't hard to find -- see Clarett, Maurice and the manner in which Coach T tried to find ways to bring that troubled soul back into the fold. Unfortunately, Clarett's continued failure to behave properly (or even rationally) made that effort fruitless.

None of this means that I think Coach Tressel will accept anybody onto the team "no matter what." Eric Knott, the erstwhile Michigan State tight end, would I think not have been welcomed by our coach.
 
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