DUI Disappointment

Originally Published: Oct 26, 2010 7:24 PM CDTWhat are we to make of the DUI arrest of OSU&rsquo;s Justin Blackmon? &#160;I have been around

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 1:28 pm

By: News On 6

Originally Published: Oct 26, 2010 7:24 PM CDT

What are we to make of the DUI arrest of OSU’s Justin Blackmon?  I have been around the OSU wide receiver.  In fact, I’ve been around him in a hospital and have watched him interact with pediatric cancer patients.  He was one of the first players to step forward and offer a smile, an autograph and a piece of Cowboy memorabilia to kids just looking for attention from one of their favorite athletes and a distraction from the difficulty of their everyday lives. Blackmon has always been courteous, respectful and accommodating with the media.  He has been quite likeable.  The kind of hard-working, emerged-from-anonymity-to-stardom player you can root for.  I don’t think he’s a bad kid, just a college athlete who made a bad mistake.   Perhaps it’s all of those things about Blackmon that make his transgression all the more disappointing.   It’s disappointing for those teammates who work hard, play hard, go to class and keep their noses clean.  They deserve better than to have to answer questions about something they had no part in.  And they deserve better than to have a negative light cast upon their team.  They’ll be watching the Boise State game on ESPN Tuesday night and have to watch the words.Oklahoma State.Justin BlackmonDUIscroll across the bottom of the screen what will seem like a thousand times. It’s disappointing for Olivia Hamilton and her family.  She’s the young leukemia patient that Blackmon has become close to.  Part of me hopes they just keep Olivia away from newspapers, computers and television sets for the next three weeks.  But I know that’s impossible. It’s disappointing for fans who bought #81 OSU jerseys and for coaches who constantly remind players that nothing good happens after midnight. It’s disappointing that I have to go on the nightly news and do another “athlete run afoul of the law” story.   It’s disappointing that once again we will have to remind kids to choose their heroes and role models carefully.  They are, after all, disappointingly human just like you and me.