In 2014, Joe Mixon came to campus and immediately got on the bad side of the entire state of Oklahoma and a significant part of America. In many people’s mind, he burned a bridge before he stepped on the field. Although the altercation took place two years ago, the video tape was just released last Friday just before 5 p.m. (which was a strategic time). The nation erupted. A lot was said via social media both ignorant, reasonable and hateful. I’ve just sat and watched it all unfold, shaking my head at society because of the sudden outcry.
Like I mentioned, this happened already. Two years ago to be exact, Mixon served his punishment and hasn’t had any more problems with domestic violence since. I’ll be the first to say:
I don’t condone domestic violence. It actually holds a special place in my heart.
But at the same time, I don’t believe we should jump to conclusions about a kid who at the time of the incident, was three months into being 18 years old, essentially still a kid. We’ve all made mistakes in our teenage years, I know I have. Maybe not as severe as this, but we all have. Typically, we learn from those mistakes and become a better person because of them and in Mixon’s case, I think that holds true.
Was the punishment too light? I think so.
But once again, it happened in the past. Leave it alone. If you chose to read the article published just over two years ago, the severity of the incident would’ve hit home and would be a non-issue today. The stories didn’t sugar coat a thing either, they told us exactly what happened. It’s sad that it takes watching a video for people to comprehend the severity of an issue, which closely resembles kids preferring picture books instead of reading books with words to get the same message.
#JoeMixon should not play in the bowl game, should not get drafted, and should not play in the #NFL enjoy what could have been bum
— Matt (@RealLifeMatt) December 17, 2016
Statements like these, dooming Mixon for the rest of his life for a mistake he made has to stop. It’s too much and unfortunately, I’m not positive that the reaction would be this severe two full years after an incident if Joe Mixon was a white football star in Oklahoma. They’d acknowledge that he made a mistake, but would mention that he served his punishment and has changed over the course of almost an entire college career.
The victim here hasn’t been talked about much. She hasn’t received much blame if any. This basically gives women the green light to act whichever way they want to act towards a man, whether that’s hitting, spitting, or bad-mouthing, knowing they’ll receive limited backlash for it. Growing up, I was taught that a man should never hit a woman and a woman shouldn’t hit a man.
Amelia Molitor isn’t an innocent princess, let’s get that straight now.
Something else to think about: Mixon is an Oakland, CA. native. He comes from a vastly different environment than Oklahoma, had anger management issues, and it was his first time being this far away from the house. Now, this is Mixon’s third year on campus, and outside of ripping up a parking ticket, he hasn’t gotten into any trouble. He’s a good student, he’s gotten help for his anger management, he’s become one of, if not the best and for sure the most versatile running back in college football.
In no way am I making excuses for Mixon, he was wrong…very wrong. However, I’ve made my fair share of mistakes when I was younger and learned from them. I know how it feels to have many people down on you and talking about you, judging your overall character for the rest of your life, based on something you did as a kid. The basic conclusion for this topic is to leave it alone. It happened, don’t get too emotional, because when that happens you don’t think rationally. Stop flying off the handle with all these blasphemous remarks about who Joe Mixon is when all you know about him is this one incident.
