"Just Trying to Get Back" to Eugene Orygun

[RWebb]

ALBANY, Ore. -- Oregon State Police has released dashcam footage of an OSP trooper pulling over University of Oregon football star Cliff Harris for speeding on I-5 in June.

Harris was clocked at driving 118 miles per hour.

Quarterback Darren Thomas was in the passenger seat of the car.

The video not only associated Thomas with the incident, but at one point in the video Harris admits people in the car had been smoking marijuana.

"You guys going to school in Eugene?" the trooper asked.
"Yes sir," replied a passenger.
"Who's got the marijuana?" asked the trooper.
"We smoked it all," said someone in the car.
"I don't know if I believe that," the trooper said.

Harris then told the officer to search the car.

The officer then asked Harris for I.D., and Harris said he didn't have any.

"What do you got? You got something for the car? Who's the car registered to?" asked the trooper.
"It's my girlfriend's car."

The trooper then asked Harris for his name and asked why he was driving so fast.

Harris simply responded he was just trying to get to Eugene.

At this point the passengers are brought into question.

"What's your name? I can't hear. What's his name?" asked the trooper.
"Darron."
"Darron what?" asked the trooper.
"Darron Thomas."
"You're Darron Thomas? Yes you are," said the trooper.

"Why you guys smoking dope driving down the road at 118 miles per hour?" asked the trooper.
"We're just trying to get home."

After a few more questions from the trooper about who in the car was smoking pot, the officer walked back to his squad car.

He eventually ran Harris through a sobriety test to see if he was impaired.

Harris passed the tests.

"There's no more marijuana in this car?" asked the trooper.
"Nope."
"So if I search it, I'm not going to find anything?" asked the trooper.
"Yep."

He didn't search it though and eventually let the group go after determining that Tyrell Irvin, who was in the back of the car, was legally able to drive.

This is the third time Darron Thomas has been in the car when a fellow teammate has gotten in trouble.

Thomas was in the car when Eddie Pleasant crashed on Gateway Street back in September of 2008.

Pleasant was charged with racing.

Then in September 2010, Thomas was with Jermiah Masoli when he was pulled over on gateway for a traffic violation, with the officer finding marijuana in the glove box.

And the latest incident, Thomas riding with Harris when he was pulled over for speeding.

Thomas was not charged in any of the incidents.

--------------------------------------

so... do not let the QB ride in your car

[speeder]

Jezus, 118 mph + smoking weed and they get a fly? And the whole thing is public?? I knew that college and pro athletes get some extra breaks in society but that's extreme. Now everyone pulled-over going 100+ is going to want the same deal that they got. I sure would.

The judgement of these guys is slightly questionable. If for no other reason than thinking they can roll down the highway @ that speed w/o drawing heat. I guess this guy will not be bringing the potatoe salad to next summer's Mensa picnic.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

The moral of the story is that one has to be on drugs to want to go to Eugene Oregon.

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by speeder

Jezus, 118 mph + smoking weed and they get a fly? And the whole thing is public?? I knew that college and pro athletes get some extra breaks in society but that's extreme. Now everyone pulled-over going 100+ is going to want the same deal that they got. I sure would.

The judgement of these guys is slightly questionable. If for no other reason than thinking they can roll down the highway @ that speed w/o drawing heat. I guess this guy will not be bringing the potatoe salad to next summer's Mensa picnic.

slightly ??

they are being prosecuted - did not get a fly

not clear if they were smoking weed while driving or just before or what, or who was smoking - just that the officer was suspicious about it - maybe he assumed speeding black teenagers always smoke weed, or maybe he smelled it (sounds like the latter)

[M.D. Holloway]

Whats the big deal - happens in Texas all the time. Heck HS football players can commit almost any crime as long as they perform on Friday night!

[RWebb]

here is the full video
State police release video of Cliff Harris traffic stop

- some of you will note the questions from the officer are leading them into making admissions

also the minutes of latitude pop over pretty fast at 2x the speed limit

Harris took and passed a field sobriety test

BTW - Harris is known for his excellent speed!

[pwd72s]

Oh, ya gotta be a football hero...

Chip Kelly on channel 2 last night. Darren Thomas will start against LSU...because "he wasn't arrested".

[sammyg2]

I don't shirk from talking smack about "boys gone wrong" (football players up in oregon) as a general rule, but at least they ain't going to a certain school in Flore-E-da ......

Report: Players Got Gifts From Miami Booster
Published August 17, 2011
| Associated Press

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Miami Hurricanes' entire football team took the practice field Wednesday amid mounting allegations by a former booster and convicted Ponzi schemer who claimed he treated players with sex parties, nightclub outings, cars and other gifts.

Nevin Shapiro told Yahoo! Sports he provided extra benefits to 72 football players and other athletes at Miami from 2002 to 2010. His claims involve several current players, but coach Al Golden said it was too soon to take disciplinary action.

The Hurricanes open their season Sept. 5 against Maryland.

"Everybody is practicing," Golden said as his team took the field for a morning workout. "If it is determined somebody broke rules, then certainly they'll be first dealt with. ... As we get ready for Maryland, hopefully we'll swiftly learn if errors were made. If there are guys that are going to have to sit out games, we'll adjust our practice accordingly."

Players weren't permitted to speak with the media.

NCAA investigators were on campus this week to address Shapiro's allegations. Golden, who is in his first season as coach, said he's eager to obtain answers quickly, in part so his players don't repeat past mistakes.

Shapiro was sentenced in June to 20 years in prison for masterminding a $930 million Ponzi scheme, plus ordered to pay more than $82 million in restitution to investors.

"If they were exposed to Mr. Shapiro, clearly we have to make sure we prevent that going forward," Golden said. "You do that by getting to the facts. How did this guy, if he did, get around our players like that? As a head coach, I want to know. I know our assistant coaches want to know. We want to make sure it never happens again. It shouldn't happen."

Shapiro's allegations threaten to bring down a program with a legacy dotted by scandals — but none quite like this. Yahoo! Sports published its story Tuesday afternoon, saying it spent 100 hours interviewing Shapiro over the span of 11 months and audited thousands of pages of financial and business records to examine his claims.

"I did it because I could," Shapiro said of his spending. "And because nobody stepped in to stop me."

Former Nebraska defensive end Benard Thomas told The Associated Press he was on Shapiro's yacht with two former Hurricanes players, Kellen Winslow Jr. and D.J. Williams, in 2005 when they had finished college.

"We all had money ourselves," Thomas said. "We didn't need anything from him."

Thomas described Shapiro as "cool."

"He was a nice guy," Thomas said. "I've got nothing bad to say about him."

Former Hurricanes in the NFL were reluctant to discuss the case. Said Devin Hester when approached at a Chicago Bears practice: "If this is about the Miami thing, I ain't got nothing."

Tennessee Titans rookie Colin McCarthy, who played at Miami, wore an orange Hurricanes' T-shirt when reporters talked to him after practice Tuesday night. He responded "no comment" to four questions.

Shapiro began making his allegations about a year ago. Golden joined the Hurricanes in December after Randy Shannon was fired. Shawn Eichorst was hired as athletic director in April to replace Kirby Hocutt, who resigned to become athletic director at Texas Tech.

Golden said when he interviewed for the job, Miami officials did not tell him about Shapiro's allegations.

"If they knew this was percolating, I believe they did have a responsibility to tell me," Golden said. "I believe they have a responsibility to tell Shawn. But look, I'm happy here. My wife is happy here. We have great kids on this team. ...

"I want to make sure we get it right. As quickly as we can get to the bottom of whatever happened, then we can move forward. The only way to do that is to cooperate with the NCAA and get the truth."

Current Miami players named by Shapiro as receiving benefits included quarterback Jacory Harris, Ray Ray Armstrong, Travis Benjamin, Sean Spence, Marcus Forston, Vaughn Telemaque, Dyron Dye, Aldarius Johnson and Olivier Vernon. Former Hurricanes quarterback Robert Marve, now at Purdue, also was named by Shapiro, Yahoo! Sports said.

Shapiro said he gave money, cars, yacht trips, jewelry, televisions and other gifts to a list of players including Hester, Vince Wilfork, Jon Beason, Antrel Rolle, Willis McGahee and the late Sean Taylor.

Shapiro also claimed he paid for restaurant meals and in one case, an abortion for a woman impregnated by a player. One former Miami player, running back Tyrone Moss, told Yahoo! Sports he accepted $1,000 from Shapiro around the time he was entering college.

"Hell yeah, I recruited a lot of kids for Miami," Shapiro told Yahoo! Sports. "With access to the clubs, access to the strip joints. My house. My boat. We're talking about high school football players. Not anybody can just get into the clubs or strip joints. Who is going to pay for it and make it happen? That was me."

Shapiro has said multiple times in the past year, including in the Yahoo! Sports story posted Tuesday, that he is angry with several of the players he claims to have helped when they were Hurricanes — only to be "abandoned" when he sought their help years later.

Miami officials began cooperating with NCAA investigators not long after Shapiro made claims about his involvement with players last year. Eichorst and university president Donna Shalala were questioned by the NCAA this week. The school reiterated Tuesday it takes the allegations seriously.

Shapiro dubbed himself "Little Luke" in reference to Luther Campbell — aka Luke Skyywalker, the rapper who was a constant presence on the Hurricanes' sideline during their 1980s glory days.

Campbell took exception to any comparisons.

"Nevin Shapiro wishes he could wear my shorts for one day," Campbell wrote in a blog post. "That punk could never be me. First of all, I have never been a UM booster. I have never given a dime to the school. I have and always will support the players and the program out of civic pride, but I never violated any NCAA rules when I was the team's biggest fan in the 1980s."

The allegations against Miami — which dealt with a massive Pell Grant scandal in the 1990s, along with other controversies — have sparked what is just the latest in a string of NCAA investigations involving some of college football's most high-profile and successful programs.

In the past 18 months, the football teams at Southern California, Ohio State, Auburn, Oregon, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia Tech and LSU all have either been investigated or sanctioned by the NCAA.

The litany of scandals has led to calls for major reforms in the way the NCAA regulates and polices big-time college athletics. Commissioners of the major conferences, including Mike Slive from the Southeastern Conference and Jim Delany from the Big Ten, have called for major changes and increased penalties for rule-breakers.

Read more: Report: Players Got Gifts From Miami Booster - FoxNews.com

[DaveE]

I seem to remember driving much slower and being a bit paranoid about the lights from the car behind me back when........ well, you know.


Of course I didn't play football, so.....

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

The moral of the story is that one has to be on drugs to live in Eugene Oregon.

Fixed it for ya...

"In the past 18 months, the football teams at Southern California, Ohio State, Auburn, Oregon, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia Tech and LSU all have either been investigated or sanctioned by the NCAA."

[bretski]

And I have heard of other Porsche drivers getting speeding tickets for going 5MPH over the speed limit in Oregon. Where is the justice in that?

[RWebb]

Darren Thomas is a minister, Paul

Darron Thomas was riding shotgun (a fav. Duck offensive formation) - not only was he not arrested, he was not ticketed and he seems not to have broken any laws at all

what would YOU do to him??

[RWebb]

BTW - Cliff Harris's family raised the $1,600 to pay off all his fines (he had prior traffic tickets in Calif. that he had ignored)

not sure if he's been to trial or settlement or what on the 118 mph thing

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by RWebb

Darren Thomas is a minister, Paul

So's jesse jackson.

Darron Thomas was riding shotgun -

in a car going 118 mph. The driver stated they didn't have any pot because in his words "WE smoked it all".

not only was he not arrested, he was not ticketed and he seems not to have broken any laws at all

I suppose he could have been an innocent victim in all of this, maybe he didn't smoke any of that pot and he was totally against the guys in the car smoking pot but he couldnt do anything about it.
Maybe he didn't want to be in a car that was going twice the legal speed on a freeway but couldn't get the driver to slow down or let him out.

color me skeptical.

it sounds like the cop didn't have enough evidence to do anything else, but on the surface it sems like the guy got away with something.
If nothnig else he needs to take a long hard look at who he associates with.


LOL, huh huh huh, he said long and hard. he he.

[RWebb]

yes, I am skeptical also. but, there's nothing to go after him on except "hey kid -- bad judgement"


re "we smoked it all" -- smoking pot is not a crime here and no one said if they smoked it while the car was moving (!); even possession if a small amt. is not a crime

driver Harris took and passed a field sobr. test, so he was not impaired (legally)