First, let's get this out of the way first. This is NOT a defense of Jalen's poor judgement. If the entire tragic situation doesn't happen (more in a moment), none of the "character" questions about Jalen are even raised.
Here is the thing about the entire narrative of character. First of all, using the term character is both lazy and linguistically imprecise. Character can encompass many things, and work ethic is among them. Typically, "maturity" is NOT one of the attibutes of character. Is Jalen more or less mature than the average 21 year old in the NFL draft? I have no idea. Is his work ethic perfect? I have no idea. Is racing a car a good idea? Of course not. Could innocent people have been harmed? absolutely. Jalen has borne those consequences, and they are now reflected on his driving record. Last I checked, most people I know don't associate how a person drives with character. Certainly, street racing is TERRIBLE judgement. It's dangerous. BUT If you were hiring an employee, would you consider street racing disqualifying? Again, I would consider his judgement as part of the interview process, but it would not be disqualifying.
Hopefully, Jalen has learned to exercise better judgement. Further, I would hope that the two deaths leave a lasting reminder on ALL of our students and faculty that drunk driving is terrible risk/reward. In the best case, you arrive home safely and save $10-$20 on an UBER. In the worst case, people die. Similarly, I would hope he realizes that driving at racing speeds on public streets is similarly a terrible idea. There are plenty of places he can go to get the thrill of speed on a track if that is what he enjoys.
In contrast, if a job applicant had openly retweeted something that could fall under the rubric of "hate speech", would you consider it more important?
Donavan Edwards, the Michigan RB we recruited, openly retweeted anti-semitic material. He then had to issue statements twice to try to explain himself. The first time he tried to imply that it was a glitch, which could have been interpreted as a computer error. The second time his statement took more accountability and as part of the PR process agreed to visit the Holocaust Museum in Detroit during the off season. It is worth noting that he went to West Bloomfield HS, which probably has the highest percentage of Jewish students of any public school in Michigan. There is absolutely zero chance he didn't know what he was doing. As of now, there has been absolutely no public account of him completing the visit. Zero.
Who has character issues? Jalen Carter or Donavan Edwards?
Here is the thing about the entire narrative of character. First of all, using the term character is both lazy and linguistically imprecise. Character can encompass many things, and work ethic is among them. Typically, "maturity" is NOT one of the attibutes of character. Is Jalen more or less mature than the average 21 year old in the NFL draft? I have no idea. Is his work ethic perfect? I have no idea. Is racing a car a good idea? Of course not. Could innocent people have been harmed? absolutely. Jalen has borne those consequences, and they are now reflected on his driving record. Last I checked, most people I know don't associate how a person drives with character. Certainly, street racing is TERRIBLE judgement. It's dangerous. BUT If you were hiring an employee, would you consider street racing disqualifying? Again, I would consider his judgement as part of the interview process, but it would not be disqualifying.
Hopefully, Jalen has learned to exercise better judgement. Further, I would hope that the two deaths leave a lasting reminder on ALL of our students and faculty that drunk driving is terrible risk/reward. In the best case, you arrive home safely and save $10-$20 on an UBER. In the worst case, people die. Similarly, I would hope he realizes that driving at racing speeds on public streets is similarly a terrible idea. There are plenty of places he can go to get the thrill of speed on a track if that is what he enjoys.
In contrast, if a job applicant had openly retweeted something that could fall under the rubric of "hate speech", would you consider it more important?
Donavan Edwards, the Michigan RB we recruited, openly retweeted anti-semitic material. He then had to issue statements twice to try to explain himself. The first time he tried to imply that it was a glitch, which could have been interpreted as a computer error. The second time his statement took more accountability and as part of the PR process agreed to visit the Holocaust Museum in Detroit during the off season. It is worth noting that he went to West Bloomfield HS, which probably has the highest percentage of Jewish students of any public school in Michigan. There is absolutely zero chance he didn't know what he was doing. As of now, there has been absolutely no public account of him completing the visit. Zero.
Who has character issues? Jalen Carter or Donavan Edwards?
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