Word Tuesday that a lawsuit is being filed against Auburn running back
Eric Smith
came as no surprise.
The story is well-known. Smith was charged with disorderly conduct after police witnessed him hitting another Auburn student in August. He received youthful offender status, which means the outcome of that case will be sealed.
I'm not here to defend or accuse Smith or engineering student Decari Jenkins, the plaintiff in the suit. I won't speculate on what happened or didn't happen or on the merits or lawsuit.
The times I have been around Smith, he has been a very polite and pleasant young man. He is well thought of by his teammates and coaches. But that really is irrelevant to the case.
Smith was suspended for one game after the incident. Whether that was sufficient, I don't know. I do know that first-year Auburn coach Gene Chizik has not hesitated to send players who ran afoul of his rules packing.
The lawsuit says other players were involved. Strangely, it doesn't say who they are, and they're not part of the lawsuit. Under any circumstances, it was a stupid thing to do, even if Smith was provoked.
But now the real circus starts.
Jenkins' lawyer was on a Birmingham sports talk show for the better part of an hour Tuesday. Faceless fans on message boards have and will call Smith all sorts of names. In this case, we're talking about Alabama fans. But if the situation was reversed, Auburn fans would be doing the same. I find grown people trashing kids they've never met to be amazing and sad.
Is the timing, just more than a week from the Iron Bowl, coincidental? Probably not, though I certainly have no proof one way or the other. I can say I have a problem with lawyers who take advantage of situations like this to seek as much publicity for themselves as they can get.
Maybe the truth, whatever it is, will come out in court. Maybe the suit will be settled out of court. Maybe there'll be a judgment against Smith. Maybe the case will be dismissed. I have no way of even guessing what the outcome will be.
It's an unfortunate situation for all involved. It's unfortunate that some people take pleasure in the troubles of others who happen to play for another football team. It's unfortunate that Smith put himself in such a situation to begin with.
There are no winners.
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