Charles Sawyer charged with DUI

jlfrederick83 · Mon Sep 09, 2013 12:04 pm

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap100000 ... dui-charge

I'm curious to see how CHF handles this. I know he won't take it lightly, but this is already a thin position. I hate to say it, but I expect Charles to be out for a while if not dismissed. We need someone else to step up, and our guys to keep their heads clean.

StrongRebel · Mon Sep 09, 2013 12:18 pm

Charles hasn't played this year much at all, and he wasn't going to because he is such a wuss. So he was pretty much lost for the year even before this, hence all the moving around since camp.

MageeRebel425 · Tue Sep 10, 2013 8:50 am

StrongRebel wrote:Charles hasn't played this year much at all, and he wasn't going to because he is such a wuss. So he was pretty much lost for the year even before this, hence all the moving around since camp.

I dont know about that.. He is prob the best corner we have.. I know that is not a ringing endorsement. If he plays, that will prove the coaching staff believes the same thing. Discipline is a fine line.. You have to discipline in a way that doesnt undermind everything you are trying to instill, but also doesnt hurt the team.

lewindha · Tue Sep 10, 2013 9:12 am

MageeRebel425 wrote:
StrongRebel wrote:Charles hasn't played this year much at all, and he wasn't going to because he is such a wuss. So he was pretty much lost for the year even before this, hence all the moving around since camp.

I dont know about that.. He is prob the best corner we have.. I know that is not a ringing endorsement. If he plays, that will prove the coaching staff believes the same thing. Discipline is a fine line.. You have to discipline in a way that doesnt undermind everything you are trying to instill, but also doesnt hurt the team.

If he got a DUI, he's out. If he plays, everything Freeze has preached from Day 1 is BS. Just my opinion. I'd love to have him, too.

Disciplining in a way that doesn't undermine everything you are trying to instill means suspending him. Of course it hurts the team with him out. You can't reward that behavior with playing time. I'm not saying kick him off the team. But, if Freeze is who he says he is, Sawyer can't play the very next game after a DUI.

jlfrederick83 · Tue Sep 10, 2013 9:26 am

The more I think about it, I think the best way for CHF to stick with his values and not kill the team is to suspend him for the season. Slap a red shirt on him and if he stays clean for the rest of the year then he can play next year. He would have to be suspended for the meat of the schedule this year anyway. Being a christian that gives Charles a second chance and it still shows that he won't let the guys get away with anything.

StrongRebel · Tue Sep 10, 2013 9:35 am

I don't think he should be kicked off the team because if you go that route every college student who gets a DUI should be kicked out of college, and then every employee should be fired. I don't think that is the answer because they are all privileges. No if he was a screwball and was getting arrested all the time or failing out of school then yeah he should go, but from my understanding he made a mistake. DUI is nothing light, but he seems to be a good kid.

My earlier comment was speaking merely to the fact that he hasn't played this year, and therefore he will not be missed due to suspension because he wasn't healthy anyway. Now in the past he rarely supports against the run and no doubt he is the better coverage corner, but there is more to the position than coverage. That is my point in calling him a wuss. Maybe the suspension will mean he can get healthy and get his mind right that this is his last chance before the draft to impress.

rebelbear · Tue Sep 10, 2013 9:37 am

jlfrederick83 wrote:The more I think about it, I think the best way for CHF to stick with his values and not kill the team is to suspend him for the season. Slap a red shirt on him and if he stays clean for the rest of the year then he can play next year. He would have to be suspended for the meat of the schedule this year anyway. Being a christian that gives Charles a second chance and it still shows that he won't let the guys get away with anything.

Sawyer doesn't have a redshirt available. I think he needs to sit against Texas at least. I wouldn't be bothered if he came back for the Bama game though.

lewindha · Tue Sep 10, 2013 9:56 am

McCready over at Rivals really seemed taken aback by this. He said that in the four years Sawyer has been at Ole Miss, there has not been one inkling of trouble on or off the field with him. Not even in the classroom. He made a mistake, he shouldn't be booted. I think he played a little at Vandy, so even if he had a redshirt available, it's gone.

This is different than a normal student getting a DUI. How many students names at Ole Miss do you know that is not related to you or not a friends' kid? Everyone who follows Ole Miss football knows Sawyer's name. So, no, it's not the same. Just like we argued about Henderson. Sawyer is less so the 'face' of the program that Henderson is/was, but it's related. He is a public representative of Ole Miss.

Freeze has preached accountability from Day 1, so this can't slide. I think he's definitely out for Texas. Could be out more, or he could be back for Bama. IMO, he has to be out for Texas. Past that, I'm OK with anything Freeze decides.

MageeRebel425 · Tue Sep 10, 2013 10:06 am

Raise your hand if you have ever drank and drove and did not get a DUI.... Not saying it is acceptable, it *beep* me off, but they are still college kids that are going to make mistakes. Don't have the right answer.. I have dealt with similar stuff as a coach, and sometimes the answer is not as white and black if you are close to the situation...

rebeloni · Tue Sep 10, 2013 10:27 am

MageeRebel425 wrote:Raise your hand if you have ever drank and drove and did not get a DUI.... Not saying it is acceptable, it *beep* me off, but they are still college kids that are going to make mistakes. Don't have the right answer.. I have dealt with similar stuff as a coach, and sometimes the answer is not as white and black if you are close to the situation...

WELL SAID

lewindha · Tue Sep 10, 2013 10:58 am

Was his alcohol/blood content above the legal limit? Did he illegally run a stop sign? If both are true. He BROKE THE LAW. And you know, people die in drunk driving accidents.

I'm not saying he isn't a good kid. I'm not saying I never drank and then drove. He was caught, arrested, and should be held accountable. He's a member of a Division 1 football team. A team in which there are rules to adhere to to stay in good standing on said football team. If getting a DUI is not one of those rules, I'd be shocked.

I have had PLENTY of friends get DUI's and never once did I say, "Well, I don't think you should be punished in any way. You didn't kill anybody."

MageeRebel425 · Tue Sep 10, 2013 11:39 am

lewindha wrote:Was his alcohol/blood content above the legal limit? Did he illegally run a stop sign? If both are true. He BROKE THE LAW. And you know, people die in drunk driving accidents.

I'm not saying he isn't a good kid. I'm not saying I never drank and then drove. He was caught, arrested, and should be held accountable. He's a member of a Division 1 football team. A team in which there are rules to adhere to to stay in good standing on said football team. If getting a DUI is not one of those rules, I'd be shocked.

I have had PLENTY of friends get DUI's and never once did I say, "Well, I don't think you should be punished in any way. You didn't kill anybody."

I know what you are saying and am not saying I don't agree in a lot of ways, but we have no idea what the circumstances were.. Lets say he was going 100 and weaving in and out of traffic and ran a stop sign.. Pretty cut and dry, right? Well what if he blew .09, driving from the square and was driving less than a mile doing 20mph and rolled through a stop sign? I agree with you, he was caught, arrested, and will be held accountable by a court of law... However, as a coach you have to figure out what is best for the team and the kid.. I don't know what is right.. Based on the very little I know, my opinion would be he should be suspened for at least the Texas game.. I dont think kicking him off the team is the right answer, if this has not been a pattern of behavior...

rebeljim · Tue Sep 10, 2013 11:46 am

What would do the most good, even though I doubt they do this, is to make him do some kind of community work, instead of making him miss a game or whatever. Go wash bed pans, pick up trash, rake leaves/mow yards, whatever. I think that would do more good for him and wherever he did his work. And he can still help his team.

Tue Sep 10, 2013 11:48 am

I say sit him for UTX and let Freeze deal with it internally. It looks like Sawyer lost focus and I believe that Freeze and team are the ones best suited to get him back on track to becoming the man we all know he can be.

lewindha · Tue Sep 10, 2013 12:14 pm

MageeRebel425 wrote:
lewindha wrote:Was his alcohol/blood content above the legal limit? Did he illegally run a stop sign? If both are true. He BROKE THE LAW. And you know, people die in drunk driving accidents.

I'm not saying he isn't a good kid. I'm not saying I never drank and then drove. He was caught, arrested, and should be held accountable. He's a member of a Division 1 football team. A team in which there are rules to adhere to to stay in good standing on said football team. If getting a DUI is not one of those rules, I'd be shocked.

I have had PLENTY of friends get DUI's and never once did I say, "Well, I don't think you should be punished in any way. You didn't kill anybody."

I know what you are saying and am not saying I don't agree in a lot of ways, but we have no idea what the circumstances were.. Lets say he was going 100 and weaving in and out of traffic and ran a stop sign.. Pretty cut and dry, right? Well what if he blew .09, driving from the square and was driving less than a mile doing 20mph and rolled through a stop sign? I agree with you, he was caught, arrested, and will be held accountable by a court of law... However, as a coach you have to figure out what is best for the team and the kid.. I don't know what is right.. Based on the very little I know, my opinion would be he should be suspened for at least the Texas game.. I dont think kicking him off the team is the right answer, if this has not been a pattern of behavior...

We agree. And I'm not trying to argue. I just don't think you can not punish him and still preach that whole accountability thing to the team. Freeze has done a really good job with this team and for the most part we haven't had a LOT of issues with them since he took over. I think that all crumbles if he doesn't suspend Sawyer at least for the Texas game.

And, Jim, these guys already do plenty of community work. There were pictures after the Vandy game of players spending time in a local retirement home. There is no punishment there.