LSU Suspensions
Author: Glenn Guilbeau
Gannett Louisiana
Ranked #4 in the country according to USA Today’s Coaches Poll, LSU takes a huge blow today with 2 more suspensions to tack on after yesterday’s current one-game suspension of a top Tiger WR, Russell Shepard, for violating certain NCAA rules.
Les Miles, head football coach at LSU, indefinitely suspended QB Jordan Jefferson and LB Joshua Johns shortly after the two turned themselves in this morning (Aug 26) for their involvement in a bar fight that took place last Friday (Aug 19). The two players were charged with the felony of second-degree battery, which is a case in which “the offender intentionally inflicts serious bodily injury.” The victims of this fight were beaten to where one had three broken vertebrae and the other had bruising on his hands and face. Jefferson and Johns were released this afternoon from prison on $5,000 bond each.
These suspensions hurt not only the players involved, but also the rest of the LSU football team, coaching staff, and the university itself. Losing a 2-year starting quarterback is about the most tremendous loss a football team can experience. Now, the team has to make a few adjustments with the loss of Jefferson because for the most part, he was a running QB. LSU’s back-up might be more of a passing QB, therefore, this could change the entire offense.
Not everything about these suspensions are negative though. One positive aspect of this situation is that hopefully many of the collegiate athletes out there look at this and realize they could screw up and lose all they have going for them. Therefore, hopefully, players learn from Jefferson’s and Johns’s mistake and remain eligible to play.
In my opinion, the author kept a neutral perspective and was just stating the facts he had gathered through his sources, trying to get the story out as fast as possible, because this is a developing story that just occurred today. I am not sure what other information should have been put in this article since this just happened, but I am sure there will be new information surfacing daily.
If Jefferson and Johns are convicted, they could be serving up to 5 years in prison with a $2,000 fine. The police are still investigating and gathering facts as to hopefully wrap up this case as soon as they can, but as we all know, the wheels of the justice system move quite slowly. What is conclusive, though, is that Jordan Jefferson’s and Joshua Johns’s football playing days at LSU are over.
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College Sports and the Media 
I agree with your statement about LSU’s offensive struggles that they might run into. Losing Jefferson right before the start of the season will be tough to rebound from. Fortunately, LSU tends to have a strong defense and if they can hold their opponents to low scores, they might still have a shot. Their first game against Oregon might be tough since Oregon has a tendency of putting up a lot of points on the board. I also hope that this might send a message to more athletes to show that they can’t take everything for granted. In an instant, they can lose it all.
It seems like there is always some athlete, somewhere getting into trouble and it’s a never ending cycle. I agree with your comment on the positive aspect of these suspensions and how they should set an example for other college athletes. Both athletes had so much going for them and it’s a shame they lost it all in an instant. It also makes me wonder what more it will take before athletes across the country learn their lesson and we stop seeing and hearing news about someone new getting in trouble.
These suspensions will definitely make a huge impact on the LSU team. So, I agree with you in that it should be a lesson to all athletes that they should not take what they have for granted and that they could very well lose what they have going for them. I think that sometimes the athletes do not realize how serious their consequences can be. However, I feel like there have been many incidents that have happened in the past that should have been lessons to these athletes and they have not called them to their attention. It would be ideal that this serves as a lesson to athletes in the future and I hope it does, but it seems as if there is always going to be some sort of scandal going on.
I definitely agree that losing Jefferson will have a huge impact on the LSU offense. While they do have a backup qb with experience, their entire offensive staff and players have been used to having Jefferson and his style of play as their starting qb for the past 2 years. Now they will have to adjust to a different qb and his different style of play. Their strong defense may be able to help them overcome this new disadvantage, but against a team like Oregon, the new qb, Jarrett Lee will really have to step up and put points on the board. I also completely agree that this incident will hopefully send a message to other college athletes that they can lose everything they have in a second. They can’t take what they have for granted, as their dreams of playing professionally and their gift of a free education can be lost with just one bad decision.