I'm not sure that we need a separate thread to discuss UI (former?) basketball player Jamar Smith, but it seems to be all anyone wants to discuss today.
The NG has two more articles, here and here. The DI story is here. There are other articles elsewhere, essentially saying the same things. IlliniBoard is rife with accusations and rumors and defenses and speculation.
As for me, I'm excited about Meyers Leonard and the rest of the 2009 and 2010 players, as well as all the current players who are actually interested in playing for the UI.
And, to me, the most interesting part of the Smith story are the actions of State's Attorney Julia Reitz. Asking for Issuing an arrest warrent and asking for $25,000 bond for a probation violation for an offense like this and an offender with a nearly perfect court attendance record is certainly very interesting.
UPDATE: Edit above to clarify that SA Reitz didn't issue the arrest warrant, but asked the judge to issue the warrant. Thanks to the person who pointed out my error. It's still interesting that she thought such steps were necessary. Is this a normal SA reaction to a reported probation violation?
pure speculation - is it possible Julia got some urging to do this from the U of I? (before or after the fact) The AD has said he had heard Jamar was slipping - this gives the team a chance for a clean action to remove Jamar from the team.
"pure speculation - is it possible Julia got some urging to do this from the U of I? (before or after the fact) The AD has said he had heard Jamar was slipping - this gives the team a chance for a clean action to remove Jamar from the team."
If the AD and the coach needed any sort of further excuse to remove Jamar from the team, then they should both be fired.
They needed no further justification beyond his felony DUI, and could have justified removing him at any time for any reason because of that. People are kicked off DI teams all the time for less, in fact.
(Just to be clear, I don't think they needed anything, nor do I think they should be fired. Just addressing your hypothetical...)
true, they could have booted him, but they gave him a 2nd chance to get his life straight. it appears they knew that he really had not done so. he had not been officially reinstated prior to this incident. but it just makes things so much cleaner and easier to dismiss a player when there is a public event.
remember how much heat Grentz took - and wouldn't defend herself by explaining the details that led to kicking that girl off the team.
"it appears they knew that he really had not done so."
We don't know what they knew. We know there were rumors, and that at least Guenther had apparently heard those rumors. What they did (or did not do) to address or investigate them, we don't know.
"remember how much heat Grentz took - and wouldn't defend herself by explaining the details that led to kicking that girl off the team."
The only explanation needed to kick Jamar off the team would have been, "He wasn't meeting the conditions of his reinstatement." End of story; no more details needed, especially when dealing with a student and privacy laws.
Jamar is gone due to his inability to control his life as an adult. Julia is just doing a little "Grand Standing" to better her image and political career. Not everything is a conspirecy with the U of I, they are not that organized.
As for Grentz I believe she was here much longer than was good for the team and the U of I, all due to decisions by the AA who came to her defense continually.
End of story; no more details needed, especially when dealing with a student and privacy laws.
you may not want any more details, but I would suspect some might.
Not everything is a conspirecy with the U of I, they are not that organized.
True. It just seems so easy to picture someone getting a phone call from Julia, even as just a courtesy.
"you may not want any more details, but I would suspect some might."
True. But more details aren't needed by most reasonable people given his tenuous status with the program to start with. If, say, Chester Frazier were kicked off the team with no warning, some explanation might be necessary, due to his lack of any sort of previous problems.
With Jamar, because of his history, there was ample justification to kick him off at any time, no explanation needed.
What really bothers me is that many felons commit probation violations and no court action is taken. Sometimes (often) a felon has further, serious charges filed on a new case when he/she is on probation, and no petition to revoke probation is filed, much less asking for a $25,000 warrant.
Jamar is being treated pretty heavy handed, way worse than most felons who violate probation. Ask the probation office how many times they get violation reports and nothing is done by Reitz's office, ask the Circuit Clerk how many times a new case is filed against someone who is on probation and no petition to revoke probation is filed in the first case. It's easy to look up. Use the PASS system and look up a not-so-old case. Pick a felony number, note the name of the defendant, then check that defendant's history. It won't take long to find someone who was on probation when the new charge was filed and nothing was done about the probation violation.
Reitz is grand standing for what is really a minor fallback compared to some crack dealer on probation commiting another felony and not having his/her probation revoked.
Was Jamar wrong? It looks like it. But the probation officer can make Jamar jump through more hoops (no pun intended) short of Reitz revoking his probation.
Jamar should be treated like everyone else, not worse (or better) just because he is high profile. That's just plain wrong, and Reitz knows it. She should be booted from office.
"Jamar should be treated like everyone else, not worse (or better) just because he is high profile."
Yes. IIRC, Reitz campaigned in 2004 on a promise to treat everyone equally, arguing that her predecessor was too soft on UI athletes. I'm not defending Smith, but this seems like an huge swing in the opposite direction. And it does seem like grandstanding, although that is certainly a subjective opinion.
Reitz made the national AP wire.
Prosecutorial discretion, indeed.
I wonder if there will ever be a story about the lifestyles of the U of I athletes. There seems to be alot of partying that goes on with being an athlete down here. I heard that there are campus bars who make it a policy to allow the U of I football and basketball players drink for free to attract more fans to the bar.
"There seems to be alot of partying that goes on with being an athlete down here."
There seems to be a lot of partying that goes on with being a student down here, too. I don't think the athletes are doing anything that many other students are doing, I just think that they're higher profile, and sometimes being held to a higher standard, which is a good thing.
Of course the mouth piece for the U of I yestereday said that they did not deserve the ranking on the 16th best party school, for the majority of students at the U of I dont drink.
Right. and if the AD knew that this was going on, why did he not take steps to make sure that Jamar understood the ramifications of what was about to happen if he got caught... like tossed from the team.
The articles in today's N-G sports section lays out the trump card--winning no matter what it costs. Maybe a "no tolerance" message from the top administrators that would be involved in this type of situation might begin to put a "cap" on the presumptive behavior of many of the Illinois varsity athletes. It does not bode well to be at a conference far from C-U and be asked about the behavior of Illinois athletes that has made the national news and internet.
Pattsi Petrie
Bye, bye, Jamar:
Yes. IIRC, Reitz campaigned in 2004 on a promise to treat everyone equally, arguing that her predecessor was too soft on UI athletes. I'm not defending Smith, but this seems like an huge swing in the opposite direction. And it does seem like grandstanding, although that is certainly a subjective opinion.
Then again, Smith made himself hard to ignore and a police officer noticed that he was violating his probation and sent a report over to the SA's office. What's Rietz supposed to do about it? If she acts on it, she can be accused of grandstanding and if she doesn't, she can be accused of going easy on him because he's an athlete.
"What's Rietz supposed to do about it? If she acts on it, she can be accused of grandstanding and if she doesn't, she can be accused of going easy on him because he's an athlete."
How are other DUI probation violations (which don't otherwise involve a crime) handled? Do they involve asking for an arrest warrant and $25,000 bond?
I don't think the athletes are doing anything that many other students are doing,
Eh, they get in a ton of fights and threaten lots of people with violence. Especially after they win. Oh, and they rarely get caught.
Or not:
What a mess.
Well, the bottom line is if he does not play for Illinois, he will head off to another university to play. A school that will be delighted to get this supposed "skilled" player. Ah, yes, positive reinforcement for such "stand up" behavior.
Pattsi Petrie
Maybe this will help UI in its quest for the Fulmer Cup. We won in 2007!
How stupid can ya get....police officer asks 3 times to leave and he keeps coming back...wow, what a knucklehead. Reitzy want to play the tough cop role on JAMAR, yet let's the white case in urbana schools linger on....administrators escape without a charge? Go figure?
The original crime here was horrific. Leaving your teammate for dead. Folding the Lexus into a horseshoe while drinking. Can someone repost the photo to refresh our memories?
He should have gone to prison the first time around, and now after p*ssing on the Judge's desk, he is surely going away. Judge Klaus has some honor and he won't let his orders be ignored with impunity.
Filing a petiton to revoke his probation (PTR) here is routine and not an act of grandstanding.
It seems that the Julia critics want it both ways. Be tough on crime but when you are we will criticize you.
There is no quiet way to send an athelete to prison. If I understand the facts correctly, Julia did not call a press conference, she didn't issue a press release, she didn't take the glory in the courtroom (Dan Jackson appeared for the State).
Didn't she learn anything from John Piland about media management? Yes, maybe she did.
According to the news scroll on channel 3 shown during the 9P news, Weber has cut Jamar Smith from the team.
Pattsi Petrie
How are other DUI probation violations (which don't otherwise involve a crime) handled? Do they involve asking for an arrest warrant and $25,000 bond?
I asked and was told that the SAO had sought the arrest warrant, which is not unusual with probation violations in felony cases. They didn't request the high bond, but Judge Klaus imposed it anyhow because he wasn't too happy with Jamar.