Normally this desk doesn’t address sports. Every once in awhile though, something happens that sparks an issue of broader social concern. Unfortunately, this looks like something that is going to get a whole lot bigger.

Jamar Smith is coincidently (?) represented by Attorney Mark Lipton who is *also* defending Jamar’s fellow teammate Rich McBride who is *also* charged with DUI. McBride was punished by the athletic department in October and according to The Daily Illini, his next court date is set for March 1. McBride was previously involved in a burglary with 2 other former Illini players in 2003 but no charges were filed.

So, is there a pattern emerging? Perhaps. Are there bigger problems with Illinois basketball than the prospect of being stuck in the NIT? Most likely.

But the story is going to get a lot deeper. Here’s why:

“When we appear in court, we will tender pleas of not guilty and demand a jury trial,” Lipton said. “Jamar and I are confident that this matter can be appropriately resolved in due course.”

According to this and this Smith’s actions were pretty well-documented by authorities. I was quite shocked to see that even after suffering a concussion, Smith actually drove back to his apartment while presumably still under the influence. Even worse, he didn’t even bother to call 911 even after he mistakenly assumed teammate Brian Carlwell was dead. Even WORSE was that other team members were at his apartment and none of them called the authorities either. It’s impossible to know his state of mind at the time but is it really possible that Smith called team members first? Who else would he have called before the police (or an ambulance)?

So, why would someone who had all this against him along with a blood alcohol level of .176 (which is more than twice the legal limit. Which is roughly .176 above the legal limit because Smith is only 19 years old) plead ‘not guilty’ to all these charges? Leverage.

The decisions to plead ‘not guilty’ and to request a jury trial spell trouble for the University. In the first place, since Smith is an athlete, there will be accusations that he is receiving preferential treatment (being on the bench at Wednesday’s game while out on $10,000 bond for one thing). More importantly though, this case has the potential to involve many prominent University athletic figures up to and including Bruce Weber and other basketball players.

If I was a prosecutor, I would like to know who knew about the accident before police arrived. I’d like to know what the players were doing drinking beer and tequila in the middle of the season even after a senior member of the squad got suspended for DUI. And I’d really like to know if something could’ve been done to prevent the accident from happening in the first place.

From a U of I perspective, it would be in it’s best interests to see Smith take a plea (which, despite the legal gamesmanship, he probably wants anyway) rather than to air the athletic program’s dirty laundry in a very messy and public trial that could poison two different basketball seasons not to mention the University’s already damaged (See: Chief) image.

Plea or not, something’s broken here and it needs to be fixed. If it takes a trial for everybody to get the message that this kind of behavior is not acceptable and shouldn’t be openly or tacitly condoned, then maybe that’s what we need.