Alabama Football: Marlon Humphrey charges dismissed

Former Alabama football player, Marlon Humphrey had felony robbery charges dismissed on Friday in Tuscaloosa. Humphrey had been charged with the theft of a cell phone charger.

As we reported a month ago, Marlon Humphrey ran into some trouble with an Uber driver in Tuscaloosa. University of Alabama police were called to the parking lot of the Hotel Sheraton in the early morning hours of January 13th.

After transporting Humphrey and three companions from the Strip to the hotel, the driver claimed Marlon stole a phone charger from him. The driver said Marlon threatened him physically when confronted about the charger. The campus police decided the altercation did not warrant an arrest. The phone charger, borrowed by Marlon to charge his phone during the ride, was returned to the driver.

At that point, reasonable people would have considered the issue resolved. The Uber driver was not satisfied. According to a report by the Tuscaloosa News, the driver,

"called police between 10 and 15 times during the hours after the incident, saying he wanted to press charges. He ultimately spoke to a magistrate and had a warrant issued for Humphrey’s arrest on a felony third-degree robbery charge."

Though not a student of Alabama law, we wonder how a $15 phone charger triggers a felony offense. Not to mention, on the scene that early morning, the driver claimed to have been physically threatened by Humphrey. Yet, that claim did not rise to the level of a chargeable offense. After a hearing this week, it became clear the physical threats came not from Marlon but from the driver. A witness testified at the hearing,

"the driver became angry when Humphrey exited the car, saying he had damaged a speaker and wanted him to pay $200 for it. Marlon put his arm up in, what I would say, self-defense, I honestly thought the Uber driver was going to punch Marlon."

Charges Dismissed

On Friday, a Tuscaloosa District Judge dismissed the case, finding no probable cause Marlon had robbed the driver. Based on the witness and the testimony of a University of Alabama police investigator, it appears clear justice was served. Or was it?

We don’t doubt Marlon’s innocence. Nonetheless, to some degree, his reputation is tarnished. We do not know to what extent Marlon’s poor judgment contributed to the altercation. Perhaps somewhat, perhaps not at all. His being charged with a felony is bigger news nationally than the dismissal of charges. Fans of teams other than Alabama football will claim Marlon got away with a crime. Any chance to discredit Alabama football and Nick Saban will be seized.

For those Alabama football fans looking for a moral in this story, listen to Nick. After a previous unfortunate and far more dangerous situation involving a late night and an Alabama football player, Nick said, “Nothing good happens after midnight.”

Next: Is the future of college basketball gloomy?

The link above does not refer to the Tide’s current four-game losing streak. It is about what the FBI has uncovered about too many college basketball programs.