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Kenrick Ellis reported to jail today in Virginia to serve 45 days in jail for punching a man in the face in 2010.
Ellis on his pending short jail term: “It’s a legal issue and it’s over with.”
I’m not exactly sure why he’s saying this. This legal mess isn’t over.
The victim, Dennis Eley, filed a civil suit.
“Before court (when Ellis was sentenced), he was served with a $3 million lawsuit on behalf of Eley. Eley’s attorney, S. Howard Woodson, said Eley couldn’t finish school because of his wounds and moved to Maryland,” wrote the AP out of Hampton, VA.
So it’s hard to understand what Ellis means by “it’s over with.” . . .
One other thing about Ellis – I was just said to a fellow writer, “I can’t believe all the trouble Ellis had in college, getting thrown out of South Carolina, and then punching the guy in the face at Hampton. He’s one is one of the nicest, most polite players you will meet.”
And it doesn’t come across as phony. I don’t like to stereotype, but most Jamaicans I have met him in my life are terrific people, and this guy is no different.
A lot of us are knuckleheads in college, many of us (not me) smoked pot (why he was tossed for South Carolina), and get into fights, like he did at Hampton.
I’m not condoning his behavior, but unless I’m a terrible judge of people, I’d be shocked if they guy has any more issues . . .
Dennis Thurman on Kyle Wilson – “We didn’t draft him in the first round for him just to come here and be a Nickel; We expect Kyle to start pushing and elevating his game to start thinking and acting like a starter on the New York Jets because you never know.”
Forget about thinking like a starter – how about focusing on being a better nickel back. He’s too inconsistent, and still a little slow to react to players cutting away from him.
And let’s not forget, he was picked with the 29th pick of the 2010 first round. Based on where he was picked, it’s not imperative that he starts. There is nothing wrong with getting an extra cornerback at that stage of the first round.
I personally think that Ellis Lankster, who continues to impress, could give Wilson a run for his money at the nickel spot, but it’s highly unlikely the Jets will let this happen.
Unlike New England, which will always play the best players, the Jets don’t always do this.
I’ve been critical of Mike Tannenbaum about this for a number of years.
To me it flies in the face of what sports is all about – do you want to field the best team possible, or justify high draft picks?
If I were running the Jets, I would allow Lankster to challenge Wilson for the nickel job, but that ain’t going to happen, and I find that kind of thinking very strange.
It’s the kind of thinking that led them last year to keep Mark Sanchez in the lineup no matter how poorly he was playing (and this pissed off teammates, and a few went unnamed in the Daily News to express their discontent after the season).
(Website Whispers will return by 9:30 pm on Saturday night.)