This isn’t just a sports story for this very simple reason, it’s more an indictment of some of the most powerful people in Oklahoma and of their extremely poor judgement. Joe Mixon was and still is a volatile, immature kid who came from Oakland to play football in Norman for the iconic Sooner brand. In the end, this isn’t just about Mixon, or even Molitor, but more about the people who back in 2014 sat together and watched this Mixon video and then made the following sequence of pathetic, dispicable decisions we’ve witnessed to date.
Why were these decisions made? Simple. To win football games, feed OU’s football cash flow monster, and to ensure the overall viability of the OU brand. That’s pretty much the way I see it as do others who aren’t employed by either the University of Oklahoma or over the top OU football fan crazy. To be fair though, I’m going to give the Daily Oklahoman one more week to give their closing statement on this sordid matter.
But what is supremely appalling is that three of the most respected and powerful men in Oklahoma have an imprint on why Joe Mixon was ever allowed to play one football game for the University of Oklahoma. The three would be David Boren, Bob Stoops, and Joe Castiglione.
This is a modest Thunder blog, and while I’ve probably written too much on here relating to this ‘OU story’–at some point somebody in Oklahoma has to write something. Because in reality it’s an Oklahoma story intertwining a powerful football coach, an iconic athletic director, and a university president who previously served on the United States Senate Intelligence Committee. We’ll see if Berry Tramel and Nolan Clay of the Daily Nothing ever man up and write anything of substance. Maybe they’ll man up and surprise me.
If I were the judge, and knowing what I know now through my own research, this would be my decision. Joe Mixon will not play in the Sugar Bowl and is heading to the NFL. OU will pay all of his normal living expenses up until the last day of the 2017 spring semester. Ameilia Molitor will have all her medical expenses taken care of by Pickles Restaurant and perhaps given a modest settlement from some obscure no fault liability insurance policy that most such retail businesses carry within the umbrella of their liability policies. OU additionally will pay an undisclosed cash settlement to Ms. Molitor which will remain a private settlement not to be disclosed to the press. David Boren, Bob Stoops, Joe Castgilone, and Berry Tramel will concurrently serve in the same jail cell in the Cleveland County jail the duration of OU’s Sugar Bowl week and be demanded to give a written apology to all parties concerned on the front page of the Daily Oklahoman. If Joe Mixon misses the Sugar Bowl, then so should these guys. Berry Tramel will write the piece and then announce his subsequent decision to leave the sports department and finish his career writing movie reviews in the Entertainment Section. Additionally, the Oklahoma City law firm of Crowe-Dunleavy will be required to provide a thousand hours of pro bono legal service to a charity to be determined by this Court at a later time.
That’s my ruling. This Court is adjourned. Back to the Thunder’s triple double season.