Posted on Sun, Aug 9, 2009 : 10:19 p.m.
The story behind Justin Feagin's removal from Michigan's football team
By Michael Rothstein
Less than a month ago, Justin Feagin was booted off the Michigan football team. Now, the reason behind the mysterious "violation of team rules" is out according to a police report obtained by the Detroit Free Press.
Feagin, a quarterback/wide receiver, was involved in a failed cocaine deal that was also tied to arson on the Michigan campus in the early morning hours of March 26.
To read the full police report, check out the Free Press' Web site.
Comments
Lynn
Mon, Aug 10, 2009 : 11:11 a.m.
Glimmertwin - AGREED!!!! Atheletes need to learn accountability - too many times they are treated as GODS and get away with everything. Glad he's gone... hope this sets a precedent!
StarZone
Mon, Aug 10, 2009 : 9:58 a.m.
@ jimtrashel - "Feagin wasn't caught doing anything different in HS than most of us." Geez, what were you doing in high school? Maybe I just went to high school with a group of angels in the 90s, but none of us ever got in trouble for battery and trespass once, let alone twice. This "Boys will be Boys" attitude doesn't benefit anyone unless young men are held accountable for their actions at the time of said action. Feagin, apparently, was not held accountable (at least formally) and apparently he never learned (ie. see fight at Studio 4 over some girls).
leathercouch
Mon, Aug 10, 2009 : 9:44 a.m.
Kelly Baraka...
armbar
Mon, Aug 10, 2009 : 8:20 a.m.
Red Flag: #3 Mr. Florida and only visited Rutgers and Syracuse. I think RR saw it as high risk-high reward...just hope RR spent less for him than Tressel paid to get TP.
The Grinch
Mon, Aug 10, 2009 : 8:19 a.m.
"Feagin wasn't caught doing anything different in HS than most of us." Sorry, but no. "Most of us" were not drug dealers in HS. "Most of us" do not have police records for assault in HS. And the only difference between between a crimminal and a juvenile delinquent is age--period. There is no substantive difference. Sorry--I see little difference between Tressel and Rodriguez on this matter, except that Clarett won Tressel a national championship before his background and habits caught up with him. Rodriguez, needless to say, was not nearly so lucky.
glimmertwin
Mon, Aug 10, 2009 : 8:16 a.m.
>> Perhaps getting him out of that element was thought to help him down the road. I really don't have an opinion on this player, his record or much else on this topic. But do you really believe that moving this kid to a suburb of Detroit is really getting him out of that element? I know Ann Arbor is a nice place to live and be. But if you think the "element" isn't there, you have blinders on. Ann Arbor has along been known as the place to go for this type of "element".
faster
Mon, Aug 10, 2009 : 8 a.m.
Why is the Detroit Press scooping annarbor.com on this story? Any why is annarbor.com running a competitors story? Very sad.
MichandWVU
Mon, Aug 10, 2009 : 7:11 a.m.
Enough already. There is a difference between being a juvenile delingquent and a criminal. Feagin wasn't caught doing anything different in HS than most of us. What is disturbing is the easy access these kids ahve to a network of drug dealers. Makes you think it's part of everyday life in Florida. Perhaps getting him out of that element was thought to help him down the road. In any regard, the scholarship was offered and eccepted in good faith. I just can't believe how casual the access to this "deal" was. I am naive.
jimtrashel
Mon, Aug 10, 2009 : 6:19 a.m.
At least RR booted him. Tressel would have annointed him captain.
The Grinch
Mon, Aug 10, 2009 : 5:31 a.m.
The Free Press article linked above makes clear that Feagin had documented violence and drug use/sale in his background. Why was he even recruited? This, then, was a predictable train wreck, a la Maurice Clarett. Not all of Schembechler's/Moeller's/Carr's players were saints, but I remember in particular one player Carr recruited from Portage, MI (don't recall name), who, late in his HS senior year, was arrested for drug dealing. Carr honored the scholarship offer but made the kid redshirt to see if he could get his act together. Turns out the he did not (got into more trouble) and was gone. So, I'm wondering, is the U of M now in the business of recruiting student-criminals rather than student-athletes into its FB program? My friends in WV tell me that Rodriguez has a track record that suggests the former rather than the latter.
SonofScoot
Mon, Aug 10, 2009 : 5:05 a.m.
Tater if you say Feagin took a scholly on false pretenses and should pay back the money then about half the team should be paying also for pretending to be football players when they are not.
tater
Sun, Aug 9, 2009 : 11:59 p.m.
Feagin took a scholly under false pretenses; he preferred to do drugs over fulfilling his responsibilities. Congrats to RR for doing the right thing and kicking him off the team. Feagin should be made to pay UM back the money they wasted on his "full ride."