University of Tennessee football players Janzen Jackson, Nu’Keese Richardson and Mike Edwards were arrested on Wednesday night for an attempted robbery outside a convenience store near campus. Ironically, head coach Lane Kiffin had praised his team earlier in the day at a SEC coaches teleconference for not having any off-field incidents.
From ESPN.com:
At least one of the players arrested was wearing some type of Tennessee gear during the attempted robbery, according to police.
A fourth suspect, a woman alleged to have been driving a car with the three players as passengers, was also arrested.
According to the police report, the victims of the robbery were in their car outside a Pilot convenience store, parked next to a Toyota Prius, when a black male approached wearing a hooded sweatshirt, brandishing what appeared to be a handgun, opened the driver’s side door and said “Give me everything you have.” A second black male also wearing a hooded sweatshirt then came around to the passenger side of the victims’ car, opened it and said, “Give us everything you’ve got.”
But when the victims opened their wallets and showed they had no money, a third black male approached the other two and said “we’ve got to go,” and all three got into the Prius and drove away, according to the police report.
Police said when they pulled over the Prius, they found a black air-powered pellet gun and a pair of hooded sweatshirts. Police also said they found a marijuana grinder, which the driver, Marie Montmarquet, said belonged to her, and a baggie containing what appeared to be marijuana in Montmarquet’s jacket.
According to police, the victims later identified Edwards and Richardson as the men who had approached them.
I wonder if this was just a hoax that went bad or if the players actually intended to rob the victims. I’m struggling to comprehend why three freshman football players would risk their careers and futures to rob somebody with a pellet gun but then again, these don’t seem to be the sharpest tools in the shed.
I find it mildly humorous that at least one of these geniuses was wearing Tennessee gear at the time of the attempted crime. Clearly these undeniable morons didn’t think this one through, which once again leads me to wonder if this just wasn’t a half-brained attempt at a joke.
Either way, it’s highly unlikely that these three play this weekend and there’s a real possibility that when more details emerge, Kiffin could kick them off the team for good. The fact that they’re all freshman could either hurt or help their chances of playing at UT in the future, depending on how you look at it.
What a stupid, stupid decision by these three players.
