Looks like this young man has a promising future as a hip-hop artist.

Things are not looking so good.

Mack's ship is definitely in trouble if these charges are true/sustained.  There is no way a program with the track record of Texas has this many off-field problems in such a short time without someone turning a blind eye to some of the activities these kids are engaging in. I know Mack recurits good kids normally, but this is just getting out of hand.  Mack needs to step in fast and hard to reign in these kids.  I know kids will make mistakes, but when these "mistakes" include DUIs, drugs, and now felonies, something is wrong with the program not just the players.  Someone is not providing sufficient guidance, laying down the law, and enforcing the rules.  This lack of oversight falls squarely on Mack's shoulders. Punish the players and the team, but Mack needs to step up as well.  

I can handle a DWI or a minor possesion charge when that is all that is going on.  Felonies are a whole 'nother ball game.  The team needs to institute a true zero tolerance stance - no more 3 game suspension for minor run-ins. It's either season long suspensions or kick them off the team completely.  This is sending the wrong message to recruits, students, alumni, and fans and tarnishing this team's image and UT's reputation.

We question some of Mack and the coaching staff's decisions on the field from time to time, but Mack needs to make the right choice here.

This team has some great potential and is not far away from being able to contend.  I never believed 2007 was going to be that year, I felt like if we built the foundation this year there could be a title run next year.  However, with the types of issues and distractions we are having we are putting this in some serious jeopardy.  Please Mack, do the right thing and put this team on the right track once again.

Police learned of Henry's involvement from Joseph's phone calls from jail.

Austin police learned of Henry's involvement by listening to taped recordings of Joseph's phone calls from jail, said Det. Anthony Bigongiari.

During the investigation of the robbery, one of the victims told police that some of Joseph's friends had assaulted them. In one of the taped phone calls, Henry said he "went over there and whupped" one of the victims, throwing them on the ground and punching and kicking them in the head several times, Bigongiari said.

Henry, who did not participate in the robbery, was charged with tampering because police believe he disposed of a backpack containing items stolen in the home invasion, Bigongiari said.

espn article

The charges against Henry are serious – 3rd degree felony under sect. 36.06 of the TPC for the "obstruction or retaliation" charge.  Perhaps the substance of his intentions was laudable – helping out a teammate.  Of course, he more than negated any noble purpose through its Machiavellian and illegal execution.  Further, the best time to help teammates is before the arrest, when criminal trends can be identified and neutered.  Prevention is also the job of the coaches.  

My aphorismic summary has shifted from "boys will be boys" to "starts at the top."  The strongest indication of a coaching mismanagement is not the long and accelerating litany of charges, but the fact that early minor charges against one team member "compounded" into far more serious charges for other team members.  Because the coaches and team did not properly handle the relatively minor charges, they guaranteed more serious subsequent charges.  For example, the baffling first arrest of Joseph initiated a chain of events that culminated (I certainly hope that the team justifies the connotation of finality in this verb) in his second arrest, the arrest of Andre Jones, and now (according to radio news reports and ESPN) the arrest of Henry.  Also, Gatewood’s charges both involved stupid activities while in the car with other team members.  

How did the coaches fail?
In terms of failures to specifically instruct the players:  After the first Joseph arrest, or perhaps even before the arrest when his problems began to surface, the older team members and the coaches should have met with the team to strongly instruct that the players 1) act lawfully at all times and 2) refrain from spending time with Joseph in any activity or at any time that could lead to criminal activity.  After the Jones arrest, the coaches certainly should have expected that the police and prosecutor’s office would be contacting other players to investigate alibis and corroborate information.  The coaches should have called in a legal expert, perhaps pulling from the generous and willing supply at the law school down the street, to explain to the players the importance of the criminal processes at work and the severe consequences of impairing those processes in any way.

In terms of failures to generally guide the players:  There seems to be a strong correlation between respect for the law on the one hand and respect for oneself, family, team, and society on the other.  Unsurprisingly, the lackadaisical play on the field - with difficulty finishing plays, sustaining intensity, and responding to adversity - parallels the string of arrests of UT players.  Here is where collective punishments work even when stern verbal guidance has failed.  Consider Penn State’s recent success and rankings climb in a sparkling-clean stadium.  Instead, Mack Brown has publicly excused the team, apologized for the severity of the penalties imposed, and chastised the media for reporting on their coaching malfeasance.

As frustrating as the game-day scheming has been, the lack of disciplinary guidance is even more serious.

...last night, fool."

Great quote!

Real genius!

You've got to put that quote right-up there with "dance with who brung ya" and "only three things can happen when you throw the football and two are bad."

How about a player-authored follow-up to "DKR Talks Football"...

"James Henry Talks Football"

Hell, if I was one of Mr. Henry's teammates, I  wouldn't want that idiot on my team.

Should count for the team, not just the fans.

...but right now I would rather see action.  

From an SI.com article

Brown said he is disappointed that the arrests have embarrassed the program but challenged the notion that Texas is riddled with problems.

"Young people who do not obey the law, university or team rules will continue to be disciplined with a stern hand and we will move forward. We continue to have a zero tolerance policy in that regard," Brown said. "I will put our long-term record of character up against anyone, and that's why these situations upset me so much."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/football/ncaa/09/18/bc.fbc.t25.texas.player.ap/index.html

This must now be classified as a leadership and discipline issue.  No longer can we chalk it up to a couple of bad apples.  Everything surrounding this issue with Joseph, Jones, and now Henry makes several things very clear.  Number One, Mack does not have a firm hand on the ship, or a finger on the pulse of the team.  I have heard some say that the leadership issue falls on the upperclassmen as well, which is absurd. While the upperclassmen may have an idea of what is going on with the youngsters in Manhattan Kansas, that idea holds no water in a town the size of Austin. This issue rest squarely at the feet of Mack Brown.  Number two, Mack is not involved on a personal level with the team. Number three, it is becoming obvious that players do not fear him, or respect the team at all.            

Publicly, Mack has handled this completely wrong. Making statements like the bs he threw out today, "I wish the police would have notified me in July", is embarrasing. I have also noticed this year in some of the statements Mack has made, that he is frustrated with the media and fanbase because we are not gushing over 3-0. The comment "I guess 34-10 in the fourth quarter is not good enough around here" speaks volumes. Guess what Mack! Perhaps the fans and media have sensed a lack of leadership or direction this year.  The off-field fiasco's and the on-field play seem to bear that out just a little.  

Memo to Mack: The Austin Police Dept. has no business calling you about a crime that is under investigation involving one of your players. That would be inapropriate and moreover, pretty stupid from their perspective! You have failed to instill a real and present fear that you are willing and able to yank scholarships and expell players from the team permanently - at the drop of a hat.  Your use of kid gloves with regards to discipline is moving the program in the wrong direction.  Your team is undisciplined on & off the field. Your players don't even fear losing their starting positions over sub-par play (See J. Charles quotes after the UCF debacle). Quite frankly, the old "soft" label is quickly returning.  Gone are the Chiziks, Robinson's, and Tomey's. It is past time for you exhibit a strong leadership and lay down the law.  That means pulled scholarhips, expulsions from the team, and losing starting jobs. This is Texas - and 2005 was a long time ago Mack !          

can the board of regents revoke an extension?  maybe messing with mack's own bottom line can get him to take this shit seriously.  we're texas...we're like miami used to be...except not as good on the field.  what an embarrasment.

A few lingering questions regarding the Jones arrest never really made sense.  The AAS is speculating that the Henry arrest solves the confusion over the identity of the 6'2" 220+ pound accomplice of Joseph.  Is it possible that Henry alone committed the acts for which Jones was arrested?  I certainly hope so, and I also hope that if so, Henry and his attorney have the honor to provide to Jones the exculpatory evidence that he had difficulty obtaining from surveillance videos.    

Just looking at the 1997 roster, there  were 7 players that were charged with assault, one for felony sex offense, one for larceny and one for possession of marijuana.  There may be more but some of the links are so slow that I lost patience.  Not all were arrested that year--some a year or two later--but they all played for, or were recruited, by Mack.  

UNC Arrests

1997 UNC Roster

Here we ago again........

is looking at these kids short bio from signing day.  These are, for the most part, "good kids".

Robert Joseph "has been on the honor roll since his Soph year (in h.s.)"

James Henry "assisted with local Katrina victims as a prepster ... participated in the PALs program ... assisted on youth camping trips and helped feed the homeless through his church"

Dre Jones "earned a place on the honor roll as a senior ... spent time reading at various elementary schools in El Paso ... enjoys helping others"

Whether they "fed the homeless" only once or every week, I dont know.  Bad kids usually wont even do it once.  

The team needs to be in their rooms at 11pm and earn their way out of curfew.

We snubbed one of the top RB's for 2008 b/c of character issues giving him an incentive to go to OU and then we became the "poster" child for mug shots???  What can Mack do about it?  How about him kicking some @ss?!?  What's done is done but set the ultimate standard now meaning a team infraction = off the team and transferring to Sam Houston State!  Grow a pair already.  

I've said it before but as an alum I am REALLY tired of defending our alma mater.  It's now a trend and impossible to defend.  Assign teammates to be responsible for one another an institute some collective punishment.  Hell - we had that in high-school band (yeah - bring on the band geek jabber).  What?  Are high-school band rules too tough for these guys?  Give me a break.

is almost irrelevant to the PR damage it is doing, to the general and sustained conclusions with each new image.

We can differentiate the details and even make a fair case that one case with Joseph and Henry is much worse than the incidental run-ins. But to the general public it is a steady erosion of the feeling from 2005. And it is not the kind of problem where a high dollar PR campaign can turn around. The program has a shadow of illegality, justified or not.

I have felt some of the police actions have been suspicious and borderline illegal over the last three years and they have indeed had some problems. But Joseph and Henry are really outside that sphere of consideration.

I'm somewhat surprised the UT administration itself hasn't launched an investigation into how that happened, how it came to be, what misjudgments were made along the line leading up to the key events. Because this has an impact not just on the Horns but on the university as a whole; they capitalized on the attention of the MNC as much as the team did.

Even the keynote speaker at graduation last May noted that Houston had made one of the greatest mistakes in the history of the state by not drafting VY. When you have the academic side sharing in the glow, then you can expect the chill to reach them, too.

So, the laudable move to action for MB prevalent on this threat is certainly felt in a more widespread manner than for most football related matters.

There's a lot of Eyes out there on this. This is a different kind of hot seat for Mack. His MNC honeymoon is officially over.

What this team needs is a few Code Reds. Thirty years ago, team leaders knew how to exact some punishment behind Gregory Gym that no team member was able to forget.

I've been busy all day, and this is the first I've had a chance to get on BON today.

This is getting, flat out, ridiculous.

I know this arrest is stemming from the Joseph/Jones fiasco, but in the public mind it doesnt matter. This is complete madness.

2 months ago (approx), I was giving this Husker friend of mine the business for Nebraska suspending Purify for ONLY 1 game, the Nevada game. I was like "Texas suspended their DUI guys for 3 games".

Now?!? I'm speechless. Our image as a University is like that of Miami and Va Tech. Thugs and punks. Book 'em Horns and Bonghorns is getting out of hand.

I'm all for harsh penalties and punishing the TEAM.

Kick these guys OFF the team, period.

For misdemeanors, 1-3 game suspensions for first timers...season for repeat offenders...off the team for any more than 2.

For felonies, off the team...Goodbye.

Please instill a drug test. 100%, monthly. If you come up positive, suspended for the season. 2nd time, goodbye.

As for punishing the team, cleaning seats Nittany Lion style is too cheesy and doesnt look like it will do anything. Especially not for our image.

I'm one bad article away from saying, "DAMNIT, TAKE AWAY OUR 2007 BOWL GAME". Maybe that will clean it up...FAST.

At the very least it will say we, As a University/Fanbase, do not approve with the current "culture" of this team.