Controversial Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon will forgo his senior season and enter this year’s NFL draft, he announced Thursday. While Mixon will be one of the most talented rushers available this spring, a slew of teams will keep him off their boards because of his off-field history, tweets Matt Miller of Bleacher Report.
The reason Mixon’s draft stock is in question stems from a disturbing July 2014 physical altercation that led Oklahoma to redshirt him that season. Mixon was caught on video striking a fellow student, Alicia Molitor, who he claims used a racial slur and spit in his face. As a result, Mixon was placed on probation for one year and ordered to release the video. After making the footage public last month, Mixon’s attorney, Blake Johnson, issued a written apology on his client’s behalf.
“Mr. Mixon asked us to once again say he is sorry for the way he reacted that night. He has apologized publicly to Ms. Molitor, her friends, his family, teammates and the University,” Johnson wrote. “He hopes that his voluntary release of these recordings will help put this matter to rest.”
Mixon, who debuted with the Sooners in 2015, was a highly productive member of their offense in two seasons. The soon-to-be 21-year-old averaged 6.7 yards per carry on 301 attempts and piled up 26 touchdowns (17 rushing, nine receiving). He’s coming off a season in which he ran for 1,274 yards, scored 15 times (10 on the ground, five through the air) and caught 37 passes.
Curious to see what happens with him. Not the first person to do something really sh***y like this, but video evidence seems to be the real difference maker in recent years. I think someone takes him on day 3.
Nobody has touched Ray Rice since the video of him beating his fiancé in the elevator. This dude won’t get drafted.
Wouldn’t be surprised by that outcome either, but it doesn’t help Rice’s case that he sucked out loud in his last season or so of actual play time. I’m certainly not gonna be pleased if my team takes him though.
There’s no way this guy gets drafted.
I’ve thought that about other situations and been wrong more than once. Whether we like it or not talent can trump anything else. But going back to my point, I truly am curious whether the fact that video exists and we’ve all seen it will end up keeping him out of the league. Other dudes have done just as bad or worse and are still playing, they just didn’t get caught on camera and I wonder if that’s really the only difference teams care about.
Can you say UDFA?
That or a 6th round pick. I would not be surprised to see the Pats take him. Under that coaching staff he will learn there is no messing around. I think he could turn it around and be a steal in the late rounds or in free agency after the draft. But I agree that it isn’t worth a pic in the top 3-4 rounds
If Tyreek Hill is a 5th rounder, Mixon is a 3 with the same circumstances, and Mixon’s are far less severe than Tyreek Hill’s.
great point. hill strangled and punches his pregnant girlfriend and was dismissed for Osu, then plead guilty and is still serving probation.
There is no video of Hill, which makes all the difference apparently. Pics, or it didnt happen.
And the Pats wont touch Dixon, ownership wont tolerate domestic abuse. OUI, sure…
Pats love finding diamonds in the rough And he’s a first round talent some time either the pats bucs vikings jets lions will take him very late.
Yeah but you’re forgetting his is on video. It’s different when they see it.
Seattle took Frank Clark and he is keeping his nose clean. I think Pete will not care what people think and take him as low as he thinks he can. Someone might jump ahead but I don’t see Pete and John shying away from the guy. Then we will hear the common Pete the cheat nonsense but the kid deserves to make a living even though he did something horrible. Like stillmad said there are guys that have done far worse.
The Texans should look at him if he’s available in the 3rd or 4th round. I know he should have walked away from that incident but what discipline did the two people get for provoking things.
He’s definitely Dallas cowboy material…luv sum criminals!
Oh yeah they definitely need a running back
Would like to see him fall to my niners in the later rounds. We have nothing to lose at this point so why not? If nothing else we could use a strong hand to keep our front office in line!
I think people who read the whole story and watch him play will jump at the chance to hire him. The media has
really overdone the facts for copy.
He was an 18 year old kid who reacted to someone he
didn’t know who was basically attacking him. One split second and your life is destrroyed?
People are better than that.
R u kidding me..? Have u seen the video..? He broke that girls face, she had multiple fractures, needed surgery to fix the damage, n after his ghetto display, ran like a coward punk! Yea, sure a youthful moment of stoopidity…that’s why society builds prisons! Where do we as FANATICS draw the line..? Hopefully the NFL, cfl, arena, hell even Joes Hardware semipro ALL take a pass…NOT on my team!!!
And you’ve highlighted one of the major problems with the prison-industrial complex. When we send these people to prison, many of whom haven’t graduated high school or are cognitively developed adults, we basically ruin any potential future they would have had.
I’m with Brent, despite the backlash, this guy was given a second chance, I hope he makes the most of it.
Don’t make it sound like he just looked for a girl to attack. She hit him first and he made a split second decision that was the wrong one. But don’t make it sound like she’s this poor victim. She’s a criminal at that!
All it takes is one team. His talent is too good unless he interviews poorly at the combine and draft time. His football tape is incredible
Just once I wish the girl’s past would get brought up in this story. It’d be refreshing to see her be held accountable. For the record, she was a known trouble maker. She has 3 DUI’s and got off on all of them because of her rich family. She was dismissed from OU because of her behavior and was then allowed to return because of her rich family. She not only initiated the confrontation but called him racial slurs and harassed him for over an hour before she spit in his face and pushed him, which culminated in her getting her face broken by a kid who just turned 18. Now she has he audacity to sue. I’m not advocating what he did in any way, but at least tell both sides of the story. She wasn’t just innocently making cookies and he didn’t like how many chocolate chips she put in them so he slugged her. Besides, I’m confident everyone did stupid sh*t as a teenager. He’ll be fine. I wish him the best! BOOMER SOONER!
Joe Mixon is a big, fast three down running back with the physical attributes to be a bigger more talented Demarco Murray who is also a great receiver and can be played out of the slot. He’s going to be good.
The whole morality argument for drafting Mixon is a bad one IMO. By rough estimation half to three quarters of the teams in the NFL have someone with some sort of serious crime on their record. Frank Clark is playing, as are Dorial Green-Beckham, Terell Suggs, Brandon Marshall, Daryl Washington, Randy Starks, Junior Gallette and more recently Tyreek Hill. Randy Moss got drafted #7 overall after dv(I think?) Mixon didn’t even commit Domestic Violence. He’s going to get drafted.
You just hope the kid has legitimately learned from his horrible choice. We as a society walk a fine line in that we hope people learn from their mistakes and get second chances but at the same time listen to the victims. The victim here was in the wrong in striking Mixon but didn’t deserve what happened at all, and one can only hope she’s doing okay and this hasn’t affected much more than the injuries she suffered when she hit the corner of the table.
Sad situation for all partys involved