Thoughts On Jonathan Taylor’s Latest Arrest

In case you missed the news and have been living under a rock since late last night, Alabama defensive lineman Jonathan Taylor was arrested for third-degree assault and domestic violence as well as third degree criminal mischief. TideSports.com’s Aaron Suttles was first to break the story. It’s his third run-in with the law and second domestic violence charge.

Just to get things started, I was totally against Taylor joining the Crimson Tide. Domestic violence is one thing that I don’t have any tolerance for to any degree. However on the other hand, I don’t make those decisions. Neither do any of you that may be reading this. The only thing we could have done as fans and supporters is hope it was the right decision and that it would turn out to be a good story on another chance just like D.J. Pettway. Well, it didn’t turn out that way.

Coach Nick Saban and the administration caught heat when they made the decision to allow Taylor to enroll and join the team and it’s picked up since the arrest. Do I think some criticism is warranted? Yes. Do I think it should be taken to the point of that some media members are wanting? No.

Some media members are actually calling for Saban to be suspended for the decision to bring in Taylor. Let’s remember here that Saban is not the one that allegedly committed the crime. He wasn’t there and truth be told, he was probably in the office watching film. People are given extra chances every day. Some may not be to the seriousness and degree with what happened Saturday night but they are given. Judges do it all the time. People convicted of crimes are turned out back into the streets but you won’t see any major outrage over that.

I’ve seen some suggestions on social media today that maybe Saban could make a sizable donation to a cause that helps support victims of domestic violence and Marc Torrence from Bleacher Report suggested that the team skip a spring practice and donate their time to a shelter that helps people that are victims. Both of those are reasonable suggestions and I don’t think Saban would hesitate to do that.

Coach Saban has already taken the first step and dismissed Taylor from the program, citing he was given strict guidelines and it was under zero tolerance. In hindsight, I’m sure the staff would admit it was mistake to bring him in to the program but it was done. Hopefully, they will also take the next step and do some of the things suggested above and perhaps take time to think more about decisions like this in the future. We all strive to help people and give folks another shot. It’s human nature. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it backfires and goes wrong.

We will hear from Saban during his press conference on Monday and I’m sure he will get asked some questions.

Keep in mind though that when you read the police report, the name of the person charged with the crime is Jonathan Taylor and not Nick Saban.