STrib: Former Gophers football player Jeff Jones back in jail

[highwayman]

In the end, it is always, always about choices. Informed, uninformed, mentors, no mentors. I don't know how my life would have turned out in his position. I just know that I ignorantly and blindly respected all authorities, with the fear of getting in trouble and disappointing my parents. Seemed to keep on (or near) the path.

 

[Gophers7NatTitlesBadgers0]

This response is enabling the situation and part of the problem in today's PC society. No reason to make excuses for him. Tougher than for some, sure, but he still made all the decisions that ruined his future all by himself.


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This.

 

[STPGopher]

In the end, it is always, always about choices. Informed, uninformed, mentors, no mentors. I don't know how my life would have turned out in his position. I just know that I ignorantly and blindly respected all authorities, with the fear of getting in trouble and disappointing my parents. Seemed to keep on (or near) the path.

Sounds like you had a great support system. Sounds like you were surrounded by people who knew how to get through to you. Kudos to them, and you.

Not an excuse. Some just have a tougher road. Tougher yet is that those traditional influences don't seem to have the same powerful effect today. Especially since youth in many situations see outsiders more than parents, etc. With that said, I have no answers here.

 

[Herd]

It's possible this guy is just wired wrong, and he was a lost cause from day 1.

But, I can't help wondering if he took the wrong path - in part - because of the way athletes get treated in our society. If you show athletic ability at a young age, then you get moved into a different category, and people treat you differently. People want to be your friend, and hang around you, because you could be a "future star." In the case of male athletes, women will be only too eager to "befriend" you. Famous coaches will fawn all over you and promise you the world.

That kind of treatment would go to almost anyone's head. A kid with a strong family and support system can keep a level head and not fall prey to the star-making machinery. But a kid who lacks that family base and support can easily be seduced by the dark side.

So, did Jeff Jones fail society, or did society fail Jeff Jones? we may never know the answer.

The suggestion that society failed Jones is clearly what is wrong with America today. In the 80's or 90's we would have said, Jones is an idiot, he blew his chance. In the 10's people say, poor Jones, society failed him. Ugh, America as we know it is doomed. Sorry, Jones is accountable for his actions, and he alone.