March
1
2007
Jamar returns to practice
8:34 pm —
I thought it was inappropriate when Jamar Smith joined the team on the bench for their last home game. I understand that the team wanted him there, but that’s not a decision the team should make.
This is too much, though. Jamar has been practicing with the team as of this week, according to the story you can find on The Daily Illini Web site. Having been charged with two felonies and agreeing to sit out the remainder of the season, I find it entirely inappropriate for Smith to have anything to do with the team, at least for the entire remainder of this season.
After an incident of this nature, it shouldn’t simply be back to business as usual.
I’m curious about the thoughts of my colleagues and our readers.
March 2nd, 2007 at 3:21 pm
Smith should have already been kicked off the team. As a criminal defendant he may be innocent until proven guilty, but the Illinois basketball team is not a criminal courtroom. The burden of proof is not as high and is not mired in technical legal procedure. This should be about common sense, and common sense tells me that even if only half of what has been reported about this incident is true, it is clear that Smith no longer deserves to represent this fine University on the basketball court or elsewhere.
The Chief gets deemed hostile and abusive and is banished. The drunk driver who leaves a friend and teammate for dead is still wearing Illini Orange. Go figure.
March 4th, 2007 at 4:22 am
Agreed.
March 4th, 2007 at 10:37 pm
Hats off to Weber, It would be easy to kick him off the team and do nothing after that. Smith made a mistake and will have to deal with it but, weber is still reaching out to him. You never know how it will turn out. Look at Luther Head. You don’t give up on family because of a mistake. Let play out in the courts, discuss it, then set the punishment and move on.
March 5th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
hey, I’m thinking about jamar, basketball may be the only thing to keep his sanity and emotions even partially stable. good gosh, he thought he had killed his friend. kudos to weber for helping this kid keep some resemblance of sanity in his life.
March 5th, 2007 at 8:31 pm
How Jamar Smith is still on the men’s basketball team is a complete joke. He left his teammate/friend for dead. How can you kick two football players off the team for offenses less severe than Mr. Smith’s. If Bruce Weber, Ron Zook, and the athletic director set an example when it needed to be set then these athletes would finally get the message. Bruce Weber showed all the Illini athletes that you can drive drunk, get in fights, and leave the scene of crimes and still be able to practice with the team two weeks later. Someone up top needs to step up, sack up, and send a message. I think the first one should be letting Bruce go. These athletes think they are God’s gift to earth and can run around campus doing whatever they please. Bruce Weber has failed to inform them that they are STUDENT-athletes and can not make it rain like Pac Man Jones every weekend.