NCAA football and the NFL faced controversies this week that saw a college coach and player arrested in separate incidents, while an arrest warrant was issued for a prominent player, and LeBron James called out the media for ignoring Cowboy’s owner Jerry Jones’ presence at a 1957 anti-integration rally.
University of Florida quarterback Jalen Kitna, the son of former NFL quarterback Joe Kitna, was arrested on three counts of possession of child pornography, and two more for distributing child exploitation material on Wednesday.
The Gainesville Police Department began investigating the 19-year-old freshman in June, after receiving a tip that pornographic images of children were being shared online via social platform Discord.
Kitna told investigators that he thought the two images of little girls were “legal” because he discovered them on the internet.
A search of the freshman’s phone revealed additional photos of pubescent girls showering, and another of an adult man having intercourse with a young girl, according to AP News.
Kitna sobbed in court on Thursday, while his mother and 14-season NFL veteran father learned he was to be released on $80,000 bail, but could not have unsupervised contact with minors or access the internet as he awaits trial.
The University of Florida indefinitely suspended the red shirt quarterback, who appeared in four games during the 2022 season.
“We are shocked and saddened to hear of the news involving Jalen Kitna,” the University said on Wednesday.
“These are extremely serious charges, and the University of Florida and the UAA have zero tolerance for such behavior.”
On the same day, Nebraska Cornhuskers interim head coach, Robert “Mickey” Joseph, 54, was arrested for third-degree domestic assault strangulation by the Lincoln Police Department and booked into Lancaster County Jail.
The identity of his victim was not released to protect their privacy, but this isn’t the first time Joseph has had a run in with the law over a domestic dispute.
Joseph was arrested in 1990, during his tenure as the Cornhuskers’ quarterback, for breaking two windows at his then girlfriend’s apartment during a domestic dispute, but no charges were filed against him.
He was arrested the year prior on suspicion of drunk driving and suspended for only a single game. The University of Nebraska–Lincoln has placed Joseph on administrative leave after his arrest.
Former Tampa Bay Buccaneer wide receiver Antonio Brown, who was let go from the team after walking of the field in middle of game against the New York Jets last season, is also in hot water for accusations of domestic violence.
Tampa police issued an arrest warrant for Brown, 34, on Thursday, after an argument with his ex-fiance that turned physical, when he allegedly threw a shoe that hit her ponytail, but she believes was intended for her head.
Brown allegedly tried to lock the woman out of the South Tampa house he owns, and threatened to shoot her if she returned to the residence.
Police tried to arrest him for misdemeanor battery at his own South Tampa home on Thursday, but he refused to exit the house and they left without serving the warrant.
Brown was charged with felony burglary of a vehicle in March 2020, when he and his trainer Glenn Holt assaulted a moving truck driver at his home.
The NFL star pleaded no contest in June 2020, and received 100 hours of community service and two years probation.
On Wednesday, NBA legend LeBron James accused the media of burying a photo of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones appearing at an anti-integration clash, where white students denied six Black students entry to North Little Rock High School in Arkansas in 1957.
Jones explained away his presence as being a curious onlooker, rather than an active participant. “I didn’t know at the time the monumental event really that was going on,” he commented. “I’m sure glad that we’re a long way from that.”
“I got one question for you guys before you guys leave,” James said to journalists at a post-game presser.
“I was thinking when I was on my way over here, I was wondering why I haven’t gotten a question from you guys about the Jerry Jones photo. But when the Kyrie [Irving] thing was going on, you guys were quick to ask us questions about that.”
Irving was lambasted by the media as antisemitic and suspended by his team, the Brooklyn Nets, for eight games, after he shared a link to the 2018 movie “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America,” on Twitter.
James explained that he feels when black athletes do something that people don’t agree with it becomes heavily scrutinized front page news, but the same standard is not applied to white people.
“It seems like to me that the whole Jerry Jones situation… photo, and I know it was years and years ago and we all make mistakes, I get it, but it seems like it’s just been buried under, like, ‘Oh, it happened. OK, we just move on,'” he remarked.
“And I was just kind of disappointed that I haven’t received that question from you guys,” James concluded.