The Blotter
The week in sports crime.
By Matt Taibbi
DO YOUR HOMEWORK
And now for an uplifting story of life in the home of an NFL retiree with school-age children.
In his playing days, linebacker Greg Lloyd was known as an undersized playmaker who compensated for his lack of height with extreme on-field intensity, great play recognition, and a nose for the ball. In many ways he was a precursor to later undersized middle linebacker stars like Zach Thomas, London Fletcher and Tedy Bruschi. He was much like those three players in many ways, only he was unique in one particular way: he had a habit of pointing guns in people's faces. And that habit has apparently finally caught up with him, as he has now been in jail for three months and last week narrowly escaped a much longer term when a felony assault trial ended in a hung jury. He will be retried later this year.
In the current incident, a sort of extreme, starkly criminal interpretation of the tough-love parenting concept, Lloyd is accused of having stuck a Glock semiautomatic pistol in his son's mouth as a means of motivating him to study harder in school. According to prosecutors, Lloyd put the gun in his 12-year-old son's mouth after receiving news of his bad grades, then said to him, "If you want to waste your life, I can end it now."
The incident did not become known to investigators until several years later, when the boy recounted it to a counselor. The incident was then subsequently reported to police by Lloyd's ex-wife, Rhonda, who had had her own problems with Lloyd and guns. In January, 2003, Lloyd was charged with simple battery for pointing a gun at Rhonda's head. He entered the obligatory no-contest plea and basically got off with the classic famous-athlete-mulligan sentence, probation and domestic violence counseling.
Six months later, Lloyd was charged with "aggravated stalking" after he took a package belonging to Rhonda and then violated his turbo-charged restraining order by calling her on her cell phone. That case is still ongoing.
Lloyd appears to be the first NFL player to be charged with aggravated stalking, which is basically the same as stalking, only in conjunction with a restraining order. The only notable football player ever to be charged under this relatively new statute was Florida tight end Dwight Edge, who was charged with the crime in 1999.
Lloyd escaped without a lengthy sentence this time around only by the skin of his... by the hair of his... by whatever that tired idiomatic measure is. The jury vote was 11-1 against, which prompted Georgia authorities to immediately file for a new trial. One juror, Glenn Bearden of Fayetteville, said Lloyd's story wasn't as credible as his son's. "The son seemed very credible, the defendant did not seem at all credible," he told reporters.
Lloyd, who was denied bail, will remain incarcerated until his next trial date. Lloyd joins once-promising drug dealer Bam Morris as ex-Steelers currently behind bars.
HOW 'BOUT THAT PASS RUSH?
There's just something about alcohol and the Minnesota Vikings' defensive line... They just go together. Like monkfish and Chardonnay. Like Mork and Mindy. Like Kissinger and saturation bombs?
Poor Minnesota. Each year the team seems, maddeningly, to be one position away from getting over the hump. For the past few years, the chief problem has been on the defensive line?specifically, the edge rush. While Chris Hovan takes care of business inside, the Vikes have tried numerous combinations on the outside to collapse the pocket?and each attempt seems to end in blue lights along the edge of the highway, court appearances, and now, jail time.
Last November, both of Minnesota's starting defensive ends, Kenny Mixon and Kevin Williams, were arrested for DUI in separate incidents within a period of two days.
Williams might not have gotten in trouble had not head coach Mike Tice decided to move the number one draft choice outside early in the season. The former Oklahoma State star is a natural tackle, but the Vikings decided in the middle of the season to experiment with him at the end position, which through Mixon had already racked up two DUIs in the previous 16 months. The inevitable DUI followed shortly afterward.
Mixon last week was convicted of that November incident, which actually was his third DUI in three years (he was acquitted of a charge from January 2003). His trial also included convictions for driving with a revoked license and driving with the dreaded open container of alcohol. He now faces up to a year in jail, plus additional time for the revoked license charge.
On the plus side, Randy Moss hasn't done anything newsworthy in months. The Vikes are rumored to be sniffing around two more ostensibly-sober defensive ends, Will Smith and Kenechi Udeze, in preparation for next month's draft.
MULTI-TALENTED
John Randle (no, not that John Randle, the undersized cornerstone of the Seattle Seahawks' woeful rush defense)?no, this Randle is the 19- year-old John Randle, a football player for Kansas University. He's as versatile a college athlete as there is. Last year, he played both running back and cornerback for a 1-A program, a rarity in major college football (former Georgia Bulldog and first-round NFL pick Robert Edwards was the last to handle the twin duty successfully).
He also apparently has numerous off-field talents. Including incidents from last week, Randle has allegedly proved proficient at domestic battery, theft, disorderly conduct, interfering with the duties of a police officer, unlawful use of a driver's license and criminal damage to property.
Randle, who rushed for over 500 yards last year on just 88 carries, has now been arrested three times in the past four months. On Nov. 2, he was arrested on suspicion of domestic battery. On Nov. 19, he and a teammate were arrested for stealing beer from a convenience store. A few weeks ago, on March 4, he pleaded guilty to that charge. Then, just hours after pleading guilty, he was again arrested on a litany of charges in connection with the inevitable "nightclub incident," this one occurring at a bar in Lawrence.
Now KU coach Mark Mangino says that Randle is in no danger of losing his spot on the team. "Lose a spot on the team? No," coach told reporters. "I'll handle it in-house." Then, leaning on perhaps the most worn cliche in all of collegiate coach-speak, he added: "Every citizen in this country has the right to due process."
KU is a little behind the times. The reigning "let's let the facts come in first" excuse for keeping scandal-plagued players on college football teams this year has been "in this country, you're innocent until proven guilty." It has shown up repeatedly in the CU case, and performed well. No wonder KU has been the second-banana program in Kansas for two decades.
The week in sports crime.
By Matt Taibbi
DO YOUR HOMEWORK
And now for an uplifting story of life in the home of an NFL retiree with school-age children.
In his playing days, linebacker Greg Lloyd was known as an undersized playmaker who compensated for his lack of height with extreme on-field intensity, great play recognition, and a nose for the ball. In many ways he was a precursor to later undersized middle linebacker stars like Zach Thomas, London Fletcher and Tedy Bruschi. He was much like those three players in many ways, only he was unique in one particular way: he had a habit of pointing guns in people's faces. And that habit has apparently finally caught up with him, as he has now been in jail for three months and last week narrowly escaped a much longer term when a felony assault trial ended in a hung jury. He will be retried later this year.
In the current incident, a sort of extreme, starkly criminal interpretation of the tough-love parenting concept, Lloyd is accused of having stuck a Glock semiautomatic pistol in his son's mouth as a means of motivating him to study harder in school. According to prosecutors, Lloyd put the gun in his 12-year-old son's mouth after receiving news of his bad grades, then said to him, "If you want to waste your life, I can end it now."
The incident did not become known to investigators until several years later, when the boy recounted it to a counselor. The incident was then subsequently reported to police by Lloyd's ex-wife, Rhonda, who had had her own problems with Lloyd and guns. In January, 2003, Lloyd was charged with simple battery for pointing a gun at Rhonda's head. He entered the obligatory no-contest plea and basically got off with the classic famous-athlete-mulligan sentence, probation and domestic violence counseling.
Six months later, Lloyd was charged with "aggravated stalking" after he took a package belonging to Rhonda and then violated his turbo-charged restraining order by calling her on her cell phone. That case is still ongoing.
Lloyd appears to be the first NFL player to be charged with aggravated stalking, which is basically the same as stalking, only in conjunction with a restraining order. The only notable football player ever to be charged under this relatively new statute was Florida tight end Dwight Edge, who was charged with the crime in 1999.
Lloyd escaped without a lengthy sentence this time around only by the skin of his... by the hair of his... by whatever that tired idiomatic measure is. The jury vote was 11-1 against, which prompted Georgia authorities to immediately file for a new trial. One juror, Glenn Bearden of Fayetteville, said Lloyd's story wasn't as credible as his son's. "The son seemed very credible, the defendant did not seem at all credible," he told reporters.
Lloyd, who was denied bail, will remain incarcerated until his next trial date. Lloyd joins once-promising drug dealer Bam Morris as ex-Steelers currently behind bars.
HOW 'BOUT THAT PASS RUSH?
There's just something about alcohol and the Minnesota Vikings' defensive line... They just go together. Like monkfish and Chardonnay. Like Mork and Mindy. Like Kissinger and saturation bombs?
Poor Minnesota. Each year the team seems, maddeningly, to be one position away from getting over the hump. For the past few years, the chief problem has been on the defensive line?specifically, the edge rush. While Chris Hovan takes care of business inside, the Vikes have tried numerous combinations on the outside to collapse the pocket?and each attempt seems to end in blue lights along the edge of the highway, court appearances, and now, jail time.
Last November, both of Minnesota's starting defensive ends, Kenny Mixon and Kevin Williams, were arrested for DUI in separate incidents within a period of two days.
Williams might not have gotten in trouble had not head coach Mike Tice decided to move the number one draft choice outside early in the season. The former Oklahoma State star is a natural tackle, but the Vikings decided in the middle of the season to experiment with him at the end position, which through Mixon had already racked up two DUIs in the previous 16 months. The inevitable DUI followed shortly afterward.
Mixon last week was convicted of that November incident, which actually was his third DUI in three years (he was acquitted of a charge from January 2003). His trial also included convictions for driving with a revoked license and driving with the dreaded open container of alcohol. He now faces up to a year in jail, plus additional time for the revoked license charge.
On the plus side, Randy Moss hasn't done anything newsworthy in months. The Vikes are rumored to be sniffing around two more ostensibly-sober defensive ends, Will Smith and Kenechi Udeze, in preparation for next month's draft.
MULTI-TALENTED
John Randle (no, not that John Randle, the undersized cornerstone of the Seattle Seahawks' woeful rush defense)?no, this Randle is the 19- year-old John Randle, a football player for Kansas University. He's as versatile a college athlete as there is. Last year, he played both running back and cornerback for a 1-A program, a rarity in major college football (former Georgia Bulldog and first-round NFL pick Robert Edwards was the last to handle the twin duty successfully).
He also apparently has numerous off-field talents. Including incidents from last week, Randle has allegedly proved proficient at domestic battery, theft, disorderly conduct, interfering with the duties of a police officer, unlawful use of a driver's license and criminal damage to property.
Randle, who rushed for over 500 yards last year on just 88 carries, has now been arrested three times in the past four months. On Nov. 2, he was arrested on suspicion of domestic battery. On Nov. 19, he and a teammate were arrested for stealing beer from a convenience store. A few weeks ago, on March 4, he pleaded guilty to that charge. Then, just hours after pleading guilty, he was again arrested on a litany of charges in connection with the inevitable "nightclub incident," this one occurring at a bar in Lawrence.
Now KU coach Mark Mangino says that Randle is in no danger of losing his spot on the team. "Lose a spot on the team? No," coach told reporters. "I'll handle it in-house." Then, leaning on perhaps the most worn cliche in all of collegiate coach-speak, he added: "Every citizen in this country has the right to due process."
KU is a little behind the times. The reigning "let's let the facts come in first" excuse for keeping scandal-plagued players on college football teams this year has been "in this country, you're innocent until proven guilty." It has shown up repeatedly in the CU case, and performed well. No wonder KU has been the second-banana program in Kansas for two decades.
