Considering the Details of Jaamal Berry’s Arrest
I always appreciate when something important happens that can make the decision to write a post for this silly blog of mine that much more straightforward. Jaamal Berry’s recent arrest for felony drug possession is not something I enjoy having to discuss. Still, with the details of the arrest now in for us to consider, a more thorough reaction than what I offered earlier is possible.
The Miami Herald finally broke through with some details on the case. The details, when considered in full, provide an interesting account of what’s going on here. I find that after reading the details, I feel both sympathy for him and a bit of disgust over how this all happened to him.
Former Palmetto High School running back and Ohio State recruit Jaamal Berry was arrested and charged with possession of more than than 28 grams of marijuana on Thursday.
Police stopped Berry around midnight for running a stop light in a silver Nissan Altima near the intersection of Southwest 120th Street and SW 117th Avenue. Officers noticed a bag of marijuana in the prep star’s backseat, according to a Miami-Dade Police Department report. The report said the bag contained about 28 grams of marijuana.
The report said Berry told police he had purchased the drugs an hour earlier and had planned to smoke them with friends.
Several things jumped out from the details that leads me to obviously ask what Jaamal could possibly have been thinking. I don’t demonize marijuana, but I recognize that it’s illegal. I dispute how useful its illegality status is, but I also recognize the limited utility of getting high. Jaamal, who was just days from enrolling at Ohio State on a full scholarship to play the sport he loves, should have had the presence of mind to know that the utility gained from getting high does not offset the costs to be suffered from getting busted by the po-po. This is always a probability in this weird country. Yes, plenty of kids his age do it. I’ve known more than a few people in college who smoked weed and they’re still fine people. But in this weird country, Jaamal should have known — and may have known — that the weird people in this weird country are going to expect more of him, and pay more attention to his missteps, than they would to the annoying stoner kids you knew in high school. With more utility to be gained from playing football, working towards being a professional (and, likely, millionaire), you shouldn’t miss marijuana at all.
The other “what was he thinking” moment came from the nature of his bust. I think I’m honestly more upset that he ran a red light. I know this one of the stranger elements (of a deluge of strange elements to me), but I am something of a safe driving tyrant. Running a red light is incredibly dangerous for all the obvious reasons1. It’s also incredibly stupid when you have a controlled substance with you. At that point, you should be especially mindful of your Ps and Qs on the road. That’s when hands go on 10 and 2; music in the car goes down to a whisper; you look left, right, left when light goes green and you stop for two Mississippis at a stop sign. You certainly don’t run a red light.
The biggest one, though, was him being the one with the weed. Again, you’re Jaamal Berry. You’re a five star tailback prospect heading to one of the elite college football programs in the country. You make some other dork do the weed run for you and your friends… and you hide it in your car so it’s not in plain sight.
While those were the obvious negative reactions, I found myself most enthralled in the fact that he admitted it. He admitted everything, it seems. He admits ownership of the weed (in that he purchased it) and admitted what he was going to do with it. For a kid who just turned 18 years old and was a national name on the college football recruiting circuit, there was every incentive for Jaamal to lie about everything. Be honest, isn’t what you were almost expecting, perhaps inspired by people you have known or read about it in similar situations? Weren’t you almost expecting for The Miami Herald to report that Jaamal is swearing he was innocent, or “didn’t know” about the weed in plain sight in the backseat of his car, or that he was “holding it” for a friend, or that he was framed, or whatever? With every incentive to BS his way through this, Jaamal has seemingly been overly contrite. His behavior after the arrest denotes a maturity on this issue that I wouldn’t expect from kids his age. I applaud him for it.
If the details of the arrest are true, and Jaamal was returning home from a weed run, I wonder if we can rethink the nature of his mugshot. When I saw it, I had the reaction that I’m sure most of you had: he was probably high when he got caught. At that point, the details of the arrest were not out, leading me to wonder if the police raided a party where Jaamal was high and taken into custody. He wasn’t high when taken into custody2, nor high at any point that night3. So if the bloodshot eyes were not the eyes of a guy baked on the grass, they may have been the bloodshot eyes of a young man, realizing he may have just made the worst mistake of his life and may have compromised his future for it. It suggests he’s dealing with the issue in a serious manner. I hope he is.
I may have a post coming up sometime later — perhaps here or on Bucknuts — of where Tressel should go from here. Considering Tressel is a man of second chances, I’d be surprised if Tressel withdrew the scholarship on a first time offense… unless Florida’s legal system wants to really stick it to a first-time offender.
Vico, I completely agree with your observations/interpolations here. There’s some other things I’m musing over:
1) He has a supplier, he’s done this before.
2) He’s lied, or lied by omission, during his recruiting interviews
3) Tressel has dealt with this situation many times. I wouldn’t expect him to handle this any differently.
4) To plead to reduced (misdemeanor) charges, Jaamal will need to “cooperate” with authorities. Did I mention he has a supplier? Let’s hope his supplier is understanding. The suppliers “network”, much like Verizons network (with fewer smiles), might not be so understanding. Let’s pray for his safety.
OK. Maybe, as a mother (and yes, a OSU football fan) I look at this differently. In my mind one question keeps rattling around in my head: “Can you spell trouble?” And the follow up: do the Buckeyes need a distraction such as this? I agree with Ron, he has definitely lied and if he lied about this, what other baggage is he bringing to Columbus? All that said, my money (such as it is) is on Tressel and Company to do what is right for the Buckeyes.
It was just an ounce. No one who is buying an ounce of weed if dealing with “suppliers” who are important enough to need to hurt him to keep him quiet. He wasn’t buying from Marlo from The Wire. Let’s not make this out to be more than it is.
Good stuff.
I didn’t touch on the red light thing because all too frequently, it’s a judgment call and not as cut and dry as it sounds. Was it a late jump on a yellow? Was the light orangish?
Even the most hardened of criminals aren’t dumb/bold enough to just flat-out run a red light. Also, and I’m not saying this is the case here, but too often police, especially in the South, have used red lights, stop signs and broken tail lights as a means to pull over a minority after midnight. Again, no proof that this is the case and it probably isn’t, but I wouldn’t be shocked if it were either.
Finally, here’s a little tip: typically when one buys marijuana, the dealer will smoke with the buyer at the point of sale. I’d say that happens more times than it doesn’t. So, he could very well be high in the mugshot and perhaps that played into the red light stop.
Oh, and Ron, dudes selling OZs of bud typically aren’t the Scarface type. Pleading to a misdemeanor in this instance does not typically involve rolling on the bum selling you bags.
Chuck beat me to it. Love the Wire, btw.
Honestly, my first thought after seeing the mugshot was that he was probably crying about the stupidity of his mistake.
Hopefully he’ll learn from this mistake and move forward with his career as a Buckeye.
Normally, an ounce isn’t a big deal. But the penalties in Florida are designed to facilitate this very thing. Jaamal fingers his supplier, who has an even bigger penalty to pay, and must finger an even bigger supplier, etc… Nobody gets to pay a fine and then leave.
Good points, Jason. I took out the potentially having a hit before he drove back (he did say he was out an hour) thing in the first draft because I figure he must not have been if the police didn’t throw that in the charge as well. I would think that’d be an easy charge to tag on to possession.
Could very well be the case, though. We’ll find out more as it develops, I’m sure.
It’s just hard to prove. Urine test? Could be traces from weeks ago instead of that night. At any rate, I’m sure he’s learning a valuable lesson.
I said this on the other write up on this issue…………………
We need , as a society need to hold these kids accountable for thier actions. Screw the 2nd chance rule, screw the oahhh he’s just a kid Bull sh**. Start taking things away from these kids permanately………………then the’ll see that there are consequences to thier actions or behavior. But noooooooo, thier is always a reason or something to pass blame to in this day and age for someones wrong doing . And that’s why we live in a society we do. Someone needs to bust this kid upside the head ( I wish Woody were here )……send his a** back home and tell him to go get a job doing something else. You only get so many chances in life at great things, and this was one of them for Mr. Berry. He knew damn well what he was doing, and if you see his myspace page …………..he loves that kind of sh**.
Sorry kid……..have a nice life.
Ed, I agree there needs to be some accountability here, it was piss-poor judgement on the kid’s part, but I think you’re being too harsh on Berry for this mistake. In fact, applying your same rules; you spelled “their” incorrectly two times in your post; you are a repeat offender. Piss on your 2nd chance, don’t post anymore until you learn how to spellcheck.
Ken, you are a badass! So, I’ll agree with your opinion, so-as not to piss you off
I’ll spell-check too, but I can’t guarantee the grammar (I’m an engineer, spelling is optional). Still, I hate to throw a young-un away over this. Even though we’ll all hear about this, over and over, for the next couple years, I’d be all worthwhile, even if Jaamal never starts, if he only graduates (sorry about the excessive punctuation). I want all our Buckeye athletes to succeed, not just in athletics, but in life. To close the door before he ever really got a foot in it would be tragic. Of course, not all athletes mature the way we’d like. Not all athletes appreciate, or even comprehend, the opportunity offered them (Maurice Clarett comes to mind). The real success for me (and I’m thinking Jim Tressel too) isn’t measured in National Championships, it’s measured in lives. If we could rate coaches in terms of the players lives, how would our coach fair, compared to the others? No coach would be undefeated, there are too many variables working against them. In a very real way, lives are on the line in this game we love.
I loathe the stupidity that must have accompanied Jaamal’s actions. I hope this doesn’t land him in prison. Of course, if he doesn’t grow up in a hurry, his career path is greatly limited. I really, really, don’t want that to happen.
Jaamal, good-buddy, I want to cheer and support you, not loathe and despise you.
I said my piece about Berry in the thread to the 1st post – I’ll just add that it makes no sense to assert that he needs to see that there are consequences for all our actions, or that he needs to be held “accountable”. Young Mr. Berry is, I’m sure, learning those lessons even as we speak, and will continue to – or maybe some people think that having your fucking MUGSHOT plastered all over the Internet, or having your character and intelligence discussed/assassinated by thousands and thousands of people who don’t and never will know you, doesn’t count as a negative “consequence”. As far as “accountability” is concerned, well, he’s got a court date for that…and IF he’s able to attend OSU as a scholarship athlete, you can bet that Tressel & Co. will be keeping him accountable for his actions there, blah blah blah.
I’m wondering exactly – and I mean exactly – what Ed finds so problematic about this MySpace page. I followed your link, Ed, and the page is certainly an exemplary manifestation of “urban” youth culture, but that doesn’t mean there’s anything objectively “wrong” about it. It might not be your cup of tea (or mine, for that matter), but so what? Or is the point here that there’s a certain, let’s say, “cultural” standard that these kids need to live up to to pass muster? If that’s the case, I’d encourage you to do some further investigation along those lines – just prepare yourself for crushing disappointment.
Maybe I reacted alittle over the top for some , but I guess I have been raised differently. And today’s youth is what it is, but above anything else that needs to come out of this……………..accountability. Shock value in the terms of yanking things away they love like a favorite toy, or activity or even a ” full ride scholarship “. Its harsh , it might not be popular , but you need to wake these kids up. And yanking football or threatening to yank football away from this kid would be quite the attention getter for him. And when other kids see that others are being held accountable it will resonate with other kids as well. Or at least you would hope.
And as far as his myspace page, flashing a 9mm and wad of cash…………..if that isn’t ment to portray something in the negative light, than what does it portray? I mean if it walks like a duck , and oh yea ” ACTS ” like a duck ( ala the gangster sh**) its probably a duck. And he obviously likes or would like to portray himself as gangster
I guess I am just to old school guys.
Um…you do realize that it’s NOT BERRY “flashing a 9mm and wad of cash” on that page, Ed? That it’s adspace for a website? And that Berry isn’t responsible for the content of the adspace? You know that, right?
I would like to win another National Title or 2.
I would like the Buckeyes to start beating and dominating the more elite teams.
I would like to see OSU and the rest of the BigTen turn the tide on the SEC and start handing them what they have been giving us.
I would like our program to be respected for our ON THE FIELD performance and for other teams to be intimidated for once.
As long as we don’t violate NCAA rules especially in recruiting….and as long as our players are not beating up old ladies for their purses….and as long as we stay above the minimum academic APR required……I DO NOT CARE if Jamaal Berry has roach clips with feathers on his dreadlocks as he punches one in from the 10 yard line. It’s just pot. If I didn’t work for corporate America I would have grow lights in my kitchen for christ’s sake.
Ya gotta have some bad boys to make a nasty team. This ain’t bible school here guys…we freakin’ need elite athletes and some of them are gonna have some baggage. Tressel and Co. have to learn to manage it. Simple as that.
All of the other great things football athletes do in school and off the field are nice….but let’s be honest….you want those titles baby. Everyone here wants to see us stomp the dogshit out of USC and Florida….that’s what REALLY matters to me. If Jamaal Berry’s pot-smokin’ ass can help us do that…. I will buy it for him. People rarely talk about what a great student these guys were or…or what nice guys the Buckeyes players are. Those things will benefit them in their own lives. What benefits me in my life is wins, wins, wins, and don’t forget WINS.
I would probably offer Clarett a scholarship at this point.
Just sayin’.
And of the subject of getting kids’ attention: for the reasons I mentioned @ #13, it’s hard for me – or any thinking person, I believe – to imagine that young Mr. Berry’s attention isn’t fully “gotten” right now. I can virtually guarantee that it is at the maximum possible level of gotten-ness. Measures taken at this point for “shock value”, or in order to make an example of him, are just piling on – at best – and patently unfair.
In any case, what you or I think doesn’t matter – Jamaal Berry’s fate is in the hands of the State of Florida, Jim Tressel, Gene Smith, The Ohio State University, and Berry himself; not necessarily in that order. We might let some of their processes play themselves out a bit before we render a final verdict on this 18-year-old kid.
And: “he obviously likes or would like to portray himself as gangster” – Holy cow. Know him pretty well, do you?
Ed, It would be nice if “throwing the book” at young people for stupid behavior would provide an example to others so that they would not mimic that behavior. However…our jails are FULL of “examples” for that exact same behavior. That does not appear to be the right approach. I love, respect, and applaud our OSU coaches for being men of second chances! And, btw, I too am of the “old school”: 60 yrs old, white male, Republican, and ex-military (9 years, including Shore Patrol where I busted too many kids for pot etc…)
I hope that the courts go easy on the Jaamal and allow him the chance to prove himself to the OSU coaches, his team mates, the OSU fans, the Big 10 Conference, the SEC where he was smart enough to NOT accept a scholarship, and the BCS when he contributes to a National Championship WIN! Go Bucks
Great debate fellas…….but one last thing to ponder…………..
There have been 4 players charged with serious felonies under Tressel’s tenure. And Jamaal is looking at a 3 rd degree felony here ( he had an ounce of weed on him ). None of those 4 players ever wore the scarlet and grey for us.
We got over 2 million people locked up behind bars. I think its obvious books are getting thrown at people, its just the people don’t care. Stupid mistake made by a kid. Lets see what does with it…roll over or man up and take care of his responsibilities..
Ed, it’s not a “great debate” when you drop rhetorical bombs, call for blood, and make factual errors, then get called out on them, and never respond. I’m still waiting to hear you say that you know it’s NOT BERRY “flashing a 9mm and wad of cash” at the infamous MySpace page.
Now you’re wrong again: Albert Dukes. Also, depending on your definition of “wore the scarlet (sic) and grey (sic) for us”, Jonathan Skeete. So there’s clearly precedent for allowing people charged with felonies to continue their careers as Buckeyes, on scholarship even, under Tressel.
A quick-and-dirty Google search (terms: Ohio State football felony) indicates that during Tressel’s tenure five people have been charged with felonies while holding a scholarship to play football for Ohio State: Berry, Dukes, Skeete, Louis Irizarry and Ira Guilford (if I’ve missed any, please feel free to correct me). If we assume 85 scholarships his 1st year and a turnover of 20 scholarships annually, we come up with 245 “players” at OSU under Tressel so far (I’m sure the actual number is different; this is just a quick thought experiment). Five out of 245 is 2.04%. I’m guessing that if we extrapolate the demographics of that 245-member sample out to the population at large, that rate of felony charges is not especially surprising. Another interesting thing about four of those names is that the two who were charged with violent crimes were given their walking papers outright; the one charged with drug TRAFFICKING (Skeete) had his scholarship yanked but was allowed to try to walk on; and the one charged with a consensual crime (Dukes) kept his scholarship. This is admittedly not much information to go on, but that continuum of repercussions would seem to augur well for Berry at least being given the opportunity to prove himself, as a person and as a player, at Ohio State.
We’ve already covered pretty extensively the ridiculous nature of simple possession of an ounce of pot incurring a felony charge in Florida. If he had been caught with the same amount of pot in Ohio, or ANY of the states he might possibly travel through while driving between Florida and Ohio (AL, GA, TN, KY, VA, WV, NC, SC), or ANY of the non-Ohio-states that Big Ten schools are in (PA, MI, IN, IL, IA, MN, WI), or ANY of the states they are likely to travel to for bowl games (CA, LA, TX, AZ, etc., FL excepted, ironically), he would have been charged with a misdemeanor. Not only that, but in many of those states there would not even be the possibility of any jail time, and in some there wouldn’t even be a FINE. Clearly, not all felonies are created equal, and the fact that Berry is facing a “serious” charge has more to do with the outlier status of Florida law than it does with the “serious” nature of what he did.
Maybe you want to argue the opposite – that a felony is a felony is a felony, so screw him. Or maybe you want to argue that ALL TWENTY of those states are insufficiently serious about fighting pot and should follow Florida’s example. But here’s the thing: as far as I can tell, you aren’t making any “argument” at all, just asserting your opinion that kids in general and Jamaal Berry in particular “need to be taught a lesson”, the harsher the better. The “facts” you’ve cited in support of this idea turn out to be wrong. You’re like Abe Simpson yelling at a cloud.
You know what would be a cool feature? If very posted opinion could also have an approve/disapprove button attached with it (Agree/Disagree would be a separate function). Some posts, such as Blood Horse’s, above, are very well crafted (applause). Other posts, less so. Approval/Disapproval should relate more to quality, than specific content, allowing users (a la eBay) to get feedback numbers. I can always admire a well crafted post, whether I agree with it or not.
When I read a post such as this, I want to respond, if only to say: “ditto”, but that always sounds retarded.
As they say in my business “without data, all you have is an opinion”. Can’t argue with data.
Unbelievable…….good lord EL Cab. The image on his myspace is what troubles me , and then what went down last week. It is what it is, if he didn’t wan to portray himself or associate himself in that way……..then why have that crap on your site??
Look I am not trying argue or get on your bad side here, I love your site its informative, and there are cool thoughts on the sport and team I love from alot of different folks.
What he did is wrong, and I don’t think we need that on our team. And I don’t care what anyone says, you don’t do it………….especially when your a prized recruit, at a prized institution , on your way to getting a prized education, you just don’t do it.
You’re not “on my bad side” here, Ed – we’re all Buckeyes and on football Saturdays at least I’ll love you like a brother from another mother. You’re just not making any sense or getting your facts straight with regard to this whole Berry situation. My attempts to get you back on solid ground, so to speak, have obviously been fruitless, and I really am worn out from the effort, so I’ll stop for now, except for a final three thoughts:
1. You really should read over everything that’s been written by everybody here – CLOSELY. There’s such a thing as context through which all of our visceral reactions to events ought to be filtered. A little investigation into how MySpace pages work, and Internet advertising, might be good too.
2. When you say that what Berry did was “wrong, and I don’t think we need that on our team”, you might want to give some thought to all the implications of that statement. Be careful what you wish for – some people think it’s “wrong” for scholarship athletes to be subjected to a system that’s not all that different from indentured servitude.
3. This isn’t my site, though it’s possible you’ve gotten that impression from the way I’ve pretty much hijacked the Berry threads so soon after my Block O Table submission. So I’d like to apologize for sort of monopolizing the space around here – to Vico and everybody else that’s been subjected to my ramblings. I really didn’t mean to appoint myself the sheriff of these here parts
Bottomline……………..what Jaamal did was wrong……………and we don’t need it in Columbus………….
Vico, while I don’t entirely agree with your background assessment of the seriousness of MJ use, I understand it. But given that you describe yourself as a “driving safety tyrant”, I’m surprised you don’t make the connection 1) buying pot, 2) running a red light, and 3) making unnecessary admissions to the police. Based on several factors of circumstantial evidence, it’s fairly likely Berry was stoned when he got pulled over. And don’t kid yourself, a stoned driver, while not identical to a drunk driver, is impaired, and therefore a danger to himself and others.
Well, I’ve been away for a few days, and thank God, I haven’t been missed. Ed (#14, #25), good points. I certainly appreciate the fact that you are Old School; I used to be Old School, but not as much these days. It’s not relative ethics, it’s a realization that OS is right for some folks, and not for others. Good thing we have two schools of thought.
It reminds me of a discussion I had last week with a business affiliate of mine over a couple of beers (OK, more than a couple). He’s about as much to the Right (yes, he is a ‘Husker fan) as I am to the Left, but we’ve agreed-to-disagree in amicable terms. He’s Red, I’m Blue, but we really like Green. Ed, I look at our (online) relationship as something similar; two different schools of thought but a common concern for the Buckeyes.
ECdS, it’s probably good to have different sheriffs in town, new or otherwise. It keeps thing hoppin’ in the off-season and probably gives Vico a deserved rest.
okay, seriously give me a break.
You guys are passing judgment on this guy when you don’t even know him.
So what everybody makes mistakes.
I’m quite sure that 90 percent of these football players today have smoked weed
at some point in time. He’s young, and he made a mistake get over it.
Who cares? As long as he performs well when needed then who the fuck cares.
I know Jaamal personally and he’s an amazing guy. So please people give him a break.
okay, seriously give me a break.
You guys are passing judgment on this guy when you don’t even know him.
So what everybody makes mistakes.
I’m quite sure that 90 percent of these football players today have smoked weed
at some point in time. He’s young, and he made a mistake get over it.
Who cares? As long as he performs well when needed then who the fuck cares.
I know Jaamal personally and he’s an amazing guy. So please people give him a break.
Of course you can legitimately pass judgement based on a person’s actions without having met that person. Everyone does this, and quite rightly. I’m not arguing one way or the other as to how the staff should respond to Berry’s actions, but your pretense that you have to know someone personally to judge his actions is flawed. As for your “90% of players have smoked pot, so it’s no big deal” argument, I suspect that number’s a bit high, but that’s beside the point. Among other things, what you miss there is the question of degree. Let’s assume that 90% of players have smoked weed before. Does that mean that any and all pot-use should be considered kosher? If half the team got together after practice and smoke-boxed the WHAC, should the coaches say, “Well, 90% of players have smoked pot before, so we should let this pass”? Again, my point isn’t about Berry, per se, but you’re putting forth some pretty flawed principles here.