Johns' arrest adds to Tide's legal misery

Matt Dischinger

Published Saturday, July 12, 2008

Move over Michael Vick. The Tide is rolling in.

Tuesday morning when Jimmy Johns joined the list of dearly departed Alabama football players, Nick Saban must have been thinking one thing: “Here we go again.”

To say the football program at Alabama has an image problem is an egregious understatement. Johns’ arrest for the alleged sale of cocaine and possession of ecstasy make the Tide’s newest linebacker the latest to miss Alabama’s supposedly inevitable rise to glory, but he’s not alone.

Saban dismissed Johns’ fellow linebacker Prince Hall “indefinitely” for a violation of team rules in February.

A possible career-ending heart ailment to linebacker Ezekiel Knight forced Saban’s hand, and in an interesting turn of events, Saban reportedly said Hall could rejoin the team if he met the second-year coach’s expectations.

That’s code for, “Welcome back, Prince.”

Earlier in February, Saban kicked freshman defensive tackle Jeremy Elder off the team after Elder was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree robbery. Add those arrests to the slew of disorderly conduct arrests — most notably Simeon Castille’s — and the Alabama roster is starting to closely resemble a list of Tuscaloosa’s most wanted.

And then there’s Kenny Stabler.

The Tide’s color commentator’s third and most recent DUI arrest occurred on June 8 in Robertsdale.

The Snake couldn’t escape DUI charges in 1995 or 2001, either.

The Tide faithful are probably willing to forgive an arrest here and there — or everywhere — if Saban is bringing home championships.

But when Alabama’s posting 7-6 records and postseason trips to Shreveport, excessive arrests could be a deal breaker for Saban and his coaching staff.

Let’s face it. Alabama has an image problem.

A big one.

Saban reportedly said in a statement Tuesday that Johns’ arrest “obviously will not be tolerated” before bouncing the former running back, full back, wide receiver and linebacker from the program.

Kicking Johns off the team was clearly the only play Saban had, but it’s a micro solution to a macro problem. It doesn’t help the school’s image that Johns had already been disciplined at least twice before, giving Saban ample time to realize he didn’t deserve a spot on the team.

Reacting every time a player jumps completely out of line won’t fix the problem. But it does give the illusion Saban cares about more than just winning.

Whether that’s indeed an illusion remains to be seen.