December 29, 2005
AJ Nicholson suspended; rape alleged
A story in the online editions of today's Tallahassee Democrat indicates that Florida State senior linebacker and Butkus award semi-finalist AJ Nicholson has been suspended from the team and sent home from Orange Bowl preparations in Miami. Nicholson was FSU's leading tackler this season and widely regarded as a quality NFL prospect at outside linebacker. Head coach Bobby Bowden had little to say about the suspension other than this:
"A.J. will be sent home and suspended from this ballgame for violating a team rule and policy. That's about all I will say about it."
This action coincides with an allegation of sexual assault by Nicholson made by a woman at the Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa. The accusations remain under investigation today according to reports in the Miami Herald. The Diplomat is Florida State's team headquarters during their stay in Miami. Nicholson has a history of off-the-field trouble, beginning with his pleading no contest to his DUI arrest last February and an incident in June with Tallahassee police that led to a dropped charge of resisting arrest.
Police in Miami had this to say about the incident:
"Around 3 o'clock in the morning we received a phone call froma 19-year-old female. She called (to report) that allegedly she had been sexually assaulted by a player from FSU. He was later identified as A.J. Nicholson," said Hollywood Police Det. Carlos Negron. "He has been cooperative with the detectives. He came here, gave a statement, and he was released."
The detective later confirmed that any charges filed against Nicholson would be for sexual assault.
Nicholson has really shot himself in the foot with a third incident like this. The rape charge, if it is forthcoming, would be a serious scar on an already questionable history. He will certainly see his NFL Draft stock affected negatively because of undeniably obvious character issues. I can't imagine many NFL teams are going to risk money on a guy like this on the first day of the draft. Nicholson remains on six months probabtion stemming from the DUI, which dates to August. Presumably this would have an affect on the length and severity of his punishment. Bowden did the right thing in suspending him, there can be no more extra chances for a guy who has blown so many already. This sort of behavior cannot be tolerated, and has to be dealt with properly.
Buster Davis will move to outside linebacker from his Mike spot and take over Nicholson's role opposite Ernie Sims, while senior Sam McGrew will move to middle linebacker in the Noles base 4-3 alignment. McGrew is an experienced vet, but moving Davis to the outside seems like a strange move. He is without question the slowest of the three starters at linebacker, I would expect that freshman Derek Nicholson (AJ's brother), Geno Hayes and Lawerence Timmons will see alot of action in the Seminoles' "Buck" third down package which is basically a 3-4, and in obvious passing situations.
UPDATE: Here is a video link to a news report about the incident. This is going to be very damaging for the team, the program and the university.
Comments:
Orson Swindle said:
posted on December 29, 2005 2:04 PM — 12.13.183.235 — link — abuse?
Oh, if he sent him packing, you can hire the lawyers. Rape is difficult to prove, so for things to move this fast there must be some fire to the smoke.
posted on December 29, 2005 2:13 PM — 68.35.231.61 — link — abuse?Mike Boone said:
Yeah, Bobby takes bowl games seriously but not half as seriously as he takes allegations like this. This is not running from the cops, this is bad. AJ is probably in a world of trouble.
thehakujin said:
posted on December 29, 2005 2:41 PM — 68.1.31.61 — link — abuse?
I'm half-glad and half-disappointed to hear that Bowden is finally doing something to discipline a player appropriately. The half-disappointed part, though, is just that part of me that likes to laugh at how police-worn that program is over in Tallahassee. Truly though, good on ya', Bobby, for doing the right thing and sending this guy home.
But Mike, I gotta' tell ya' man, you're kidding yourself with this statement:
"This is going to be very damaging for the team, the program and the university."Unfortunately, FSU already has the rep... he is just living up to it. And for the most part, I don't believe that rep has a chance of changing until Bowden is gone and the program (hopefully) undergoes a pretty complete modification. However, like you said, there has got to be some serious backstory to this for Bowden to pull the trigger so fast right before playing Penn State.
posted on December 29, 2005 4:01 PM — 68.84.31.105 — link — abuse?
I don't know about that, thhe climate around Tallahassee is pretty tense lately with the Jeff Bowden debacle never more than one or two bad offensive plays away from exploding again. Bad PR will make life hard for Bobby which will perhaps push him to retirement. He has always said he'd stop coaching when it stops being fun. Obviously no one at FSU wants to be regarded as an outlaw program with a doting grandfather at the helm but when stuff like this happens its hard to argue that Bobby is running a very tight ship.
Ron Mexico said:
posted on December 29, 2005 6:08 PM — 68.21.103.162 — link — abuse?
I don't root for FSU, nor do I think Bowden is God, but that last comment by Mr. Boone is plain stupid.
No coach, anywhere, can do anything more than lay down rules and enforce them. These players, who are legal adults, make their own choices within or outside of the rules.
Bowden suspended the player and sent him home. What else is he to do? Stand by the guy's hotel room door or spend money on personal security for each player? Coaches are not players' parents ... they set a standard for rule enforcement and you can only question whether they stand by their rules consistently or not.
If you want a poor example of coaching, take a look at the BC coach who let a player skip a court date to fly out West. Now that, in my mind, is not running a tight ship. Gary Barnett, who provided as poor an example as any as a coach is in the same boat.
Players are ultimately responsible for their own mischief.
posted on December 29, 2005 8:25 PM — link — abuse?
Standing Ovation for Ron (7)!!!!!
Tommie Trojan said:
posted on December 29, 2005 8:27 PM — 208.57.130.196 — link — abuse?
Oh, I would just wait and see what comes about here. It is the right thing to suspend the guy for the bowl game. But, he has not been charged with anything and was cooperative with the police. He's none to smart, what with all the money he stands to make in the NFL, and continues to run around with people of questionable character. Of which, I have no doubt, is part of the problem here. These things generally can get made to go away with money. Isn't that strange? So, I think, he gets suspended for just being stupid, period. I withold judgement on what is really going on there, as when it comes to professional athletes with tons of money, almost anything bad can happen. He hasn't gotten to watch the NFL rookie films that educate him on all this sort of goings on yet. He needs to lose just about all of his "so called friends". They are not going to do him any good where he is going - one way or another.
Tommie Trojan
posted on December 29, 2005 11:18 PM — 68.35.231.61 — link — abuse?
I don't disagree that coaches can't be responsible for players, you're exactly right. Bowden has always trusted his players to make good decisions, sometimes they just let him down and make him look stupid which leads people to think he's asleep at the wheel.
cware said:
posted on December 29, 2005 11:46 PM — 68.59.109.33 — link — abuse?
I agree with Ron, however, there is no denying that some programs have more trouble with players' bad conduct than others. There are more and more of player incidents being reported all the time, but FSU has had a bad rep for many years. I'm not saying that Bowden is running a renegade program, but it is clear that discipline is lacking throughout college football. FSU has just had this problem for a while. I mean the NFL seems to have less problems with bad player conduct even though they are grown men compared to teenagers. I just think there needs to be more discipline. I applaud Bowden for sending AJ home. Discipline doesn't start with the coaches, however. It starts with AD's backing up coaches so they can discipline players without question.
T Roberts said:
posted on December 30, 2005 8:27 AM — 65.35.196.156 — link — abuse?
Come on...are we sure AJ hasn't left for a temporary name change and come Saturday there will be a new team member to the FSU roster.
Any takers on the new number he will wear?
Come on Donald..we need you, "Bobby your fired"
Orson Swindle said:
posted on December 30, 2005 9:43 AM — 12.13.183.235 — link — abuse?
That is true, Ron. Players are responsible for their own behavior.
It's also true that at FSU, players over the years have been responsible for more incidents like this than at other schools. That starts with the kind of student and person they recruit, and that starts at the top.
Coaches can play a powerful role in determining the incentives that govern player behavior. Bowden chooses not to while other coaches do; thus FSU's reputation for scullduggery and bad player behavior.
Point being: it doesn't have to be this way in Tallahassee. It's a byproduct of design, and the person responsible for the pattern--not the crimes themselves--is the head man.
posted on December 30, 2005 10:10 AM — link — abuse?
More today from the NYT:
The police in Hollywood said they received a call around 3 a.m. Thursday from a 19-year-old woman who reported that she had been raped by a Florida State player, said Carlos Negron, a police spokesman. Negron said the player was later identified as Nicholson.
No charges have been filed against Nicholson, and an investigation continues, Negron said.
"We hope to talk to several coaches and players," he said. "This figures to take awhile. We want to make sure everything has been done perfectly before we decide what to do."
The police said the incident occurred at the Westin Diplomat Resort and Spa in Hollywood. The woman was taken to the Sexual Assault Treatment Center in Fort Lauderdale and was interviewed later Thursday by the police. Negron said the woman lived in the area and was not someone who had followed the Seminoles to the bowl game.
posted on December 30, 2005 10:29 AM — 68.35.231.61 — link — abuse?
One of the things that seems weird about this to me is the timing of the phone call in relation to when the incident actually happened. If it went down after curfew then presumably Nicholson's roommate would have been in their room at the time of the incident and would be a witness, which would make this a much easier case to solve.
That Guy said:
posted on December 30, 2005 12:11 PM — 207.230.144.240 — link — abuse?
First off, I'm a Gator fan, so I'm suprised that bobby even knew AJ's name in order to send him home.
With that being said, I'm continually amazed at the stupidty of college atheletes who put themselves into bad situations. The whole "they're just college kids" line doesn't work when you're a student athelete, especially at a high profile school. And it's not just FSU...even at UF you hear stories of the stupid things these guys (and, gals...those female student athletes aren't always that bright either) do.
Did I make mistakes as a college kid? Yes. Did they cause me and my university this sort of embarrassment? No. When you're a public figure, you're held to higher standards, like it or not. College athletes need to start learning this.
And, to show that I'm not trying to totally rip on the Noles as a Gator fan, I honestly want to say congrats to the FSU athletic department for having a Rhodes Scholar as an athlete there. How many other Div. I-A programs can say that?
gaffbag said:
posted on December 30, 2005 12:16 PM — 68.45.87.109 — link — abuse?
If you don't think there is a strong relationship between player conduct and the role of a team's coach you need look no further than this very bowl game to be corrected: Florida State vs Penn State.
The game pits two winningest coaches in the history of division 1A college football against one another. Yet the paths each of these men have taken to reach this point are very different. Paterno has done an incredible job of keeping his program clean over his time with the Nittany Lions. Bowden...well let's just say he's made different choices about how to throw his weight around than JoPa has. It isn't necessarily about rules, or when and how they are enforced - it's about culture. And the culture of these two programs couldn't be more dissimilar, despite the similar degree of success their two coaches have experienced.
Ad Rock said:
posted on December 30, 2005 2:01 PM — 68.217.103.212 — link — abuse?
In sexual assault cases, the time of report, etc. really doesn't mean much. The decsion to charge will be mostly based on the info we will not see due to confidentiality laws.
Anyway, there is a point that the Coach and AD determine what type of player they are going to recruit. If the player must have a higher GPA, does that mean they are less likely to get in trouble? Who knows, but unfortunately, FSU is getting a bad rep for a relatively small number of incidents. But, being a high profile school with high profile players, even one incident gets a whole lot of press.
I think the problem here, if true, can more likely be atributed to how, we as a society, treat the start athlete - especially the young star athlete. Sexual assault seems to be common among this group. I think that is the case because they are simply used to never having anyone say, "no" to them. When faced with rejection, they may be explosive in response.
FSU is strong enough to get through this stuff, but the the President, the AD, and Bobby may need to look at who they are recruiting.
DrewLo said:
posted on December 30, 2005 9:23 PM — 67.22.172.40 — link — abuse?
GaffBag is nuts if he thinks JoePa is in tight control. Didn't PSU quarterback Rashard Casey beat up a cop and put him in the hosptial a few back, with no suspension?
How 'bout tight end R.J. Luke and linebacker T.C. Cosby allowed to play before getting acquitted by a jury last spring after being charged with aggravated assault after a fight outside of a fraternity house in the summer of 2001
Or then there was defensive back Anwar Phillips allowed to play in the Capital One Bowl three weeks after he accepted a two-semester expulsion from the university's office of judicial affairs after a female student accused him of assaulting her on campus in November.
Need a reminder on How JoePa is looking the other way?
I applaud Bowden for sending A.J. home for missing curfew and putting himself in a bad situation. He may end up being not-guilty, but he shouldn't have been there in the first palce. For that Bowden sent him packing. He would be dressed and ready to play had he been one of JoePa's boys, as history shows.Japan0811 said:
posted on December 31, 2005 1:07 PM — 66.177.38.7 — link — abuse?
This is a interesting situation. Now i know a couple of the players and they don't need to sexually assault anyone. There are females practically throwing themselves at the feet of FSU football players. The fact alone that the police questioned him and released him should have been enough. Yes he should be punished for missing curfew, but a One game suspension when you only have one game left. This man is trying to make it to the draft and anyone with sence knows that if you show out in the bowl game, especially a BCS bowl game then that helps your draft stakes. I think that if the police find no wrong right now then he should sit for the first half, but don't ruin his career on alligations. what if it comes back to be false, then what?? he gets a we're sorry and a pat on the back. With the other charges be charitable, how many of us have driven home after a few drinks, he just happened to get caught, not a smart thing to do but that is a choice he has to live with. with the resisting arrest. I WAS THERE. It was a fight. When you are in a fight you don't know who is touching you. A police officer grabed him to break the situation up, he thought that it was someone trying to hold him, so he used his power to get loose. Thats why the charges were dropped, because it was not intentional. This is supposed to be a country where you are innocent until proven guilty, but it doesn't seem like it is the case this time. Bobby is so scared that it might be true and everyone will talk about him for not suspending him, that he suspends him and doesn't know if it is true or not. which to me is even worse, because you could be punishing an innocent man. plus the whole timing of the situation also makes you think, did someone put this chick up to this?????
DrewLo said:
posted on December 31, 2005 8:31 PM — 67.22.172.40 — link — abuse?
I am sure that there are lingering questions to A.J.'s innocence. Him cooperating fully, the police releasing him. If A.J. is found innocent, it wont hurt his draft status too much. Luis Castillo had drug convictions that may have cost him a few draft positions, but that left him on a contender and he is still a millionare. A.J's stats will get a high draft pick if he is found innocent. If guilty he will have other things to worry about. Bowden sent a message to his returning players and incoming freshmen that breaking rules will result in consequences, regardless if you are a star or a sub. Notice how he suspended Peter Warrick prior to the Miami game the year he and Lav Coles had their Dillard's shopping spree. Laverneous was kicked off the team as this was his "third strike", similar to Nicholson's recent incident. Now mind you I am originally from South FLA and a FSU alum. Bobby made the right call. I hope Nicholson gets vindicated and is proved not guilty. It will be a lesson he needs to learn.
Stuckinpa2001 said:
posted on January 3, 2006 9:11 AM — 68.82.154.2 — link — abuse?
HEY DrewLo!!!!
Thank you for bringing some Facts to this page, most of the other comments on this page were making it seem as though no other team in division 1-A or any other NCAA football program had any problem accept for Florida State!
Penn State has just as many screwed up players as any other college team and if you think you favorite team is perfect you need to join us in the real world!
Just in case some of you people missed what DrewLo posted***DrewLo says:
posted on December 30, 2005 09:23 PM — link
GaffBag is nuts if he thinks JoePa is in tight control. Didn't PSU quarterback Rashard Casey beat up a cop and put him in the hosptial a few back, with no suspension?How 'bout tight end R.J. Luke and linebacker T.C. Cosby allowed to play before getting acquitted by a jury last spring after being charged with aggravated assault after a fight outside of a fraternity house in the summer of 2001
Or then there was defensive back Anwar Phillips allowed to play in the Capital One Bowl three weeks after he accepted a two-semester expulsion from the university's office of judicial affairs after a female student accused him of assaulting her on campus in November.
Need a reminder on How JoePa is looking the other way?
I applaud Bowden for sending A.J. home for missing curfew and putting himself in a bad situation. He may end up being not-guilty, but he shouldn't have been there in the first palce. For that Bowden sent him packing. He would be dressed and ready to play had he been one of JoePa's boys, as history shows.***
erica816 said:
posted on January 4, 2006 11:13 AM — 199.44.37.201 — link — abuse?
Although it is correct that football players, especially those in premier programs such as FSU, have women throwing themselves at them on a regular basis, that has nothing to do with whether or not someone is capable of sexual assault. Rape is about exhibiting power and control over someone else and I have seen even the best looking and popular guys (and many athletes)are guilty of commiting these crimes. Nothing has been proven, but I feel that even the suspicision has to be taken seriously.
I do think that some of the responsibility of discipline within a football program falls on the head coach. Ultimately, however, the player is responsible for his or her own conduct. I completely agree with AD Rock that society coddle's these athletes, make them into rock stars, and lead them to believe that they are above the law. This begins in high school and occurs from the classroom to the courtroom. Until society and University stop treating these athletes like gods, we will continue to see incidents like this.
posted on January 26, 2006 8:08 AM — 68.35.231.61 — link — abuse?
Has anyone heard anything about Nicholson actually being charged with a crime yet? I'm starting to wonder if its going to happen or not.
Tommie Trojan said:
posted on January 26, 2006 10:51 PM — 208.57.130.196 — link — abuse?
Yeh, in my previous post I had mentioned cash. Cash does wonderful things. Cash makes people even forget what they saw or even what was done to them. Cash makes people change their stories. Cash even makes certain people lose interest. Yes, cash is a wonderful thing and Mr. Nicholson is gonna have to get some before anybody else gets theirs. How do you suppose that's gonna come about? Here is a clue: all parties involved are gonna have to pretend that nothing really happened - even if it did. Didn't Kobe handle that masterfully? And, look at him now that he's pourin' in eighty-one a night. Heck, hardly anyone even remembers that he is probably just an every day run of the mill rapist. They think he's just a great hoops player.
Tommie Trojan
Joe said:
posted on February 10, 2006 3:20 PM — 65.35.221.95 — link — abuse?
Well as usual it appears that Nicholson was no more guilty than refusing to pay some hooker looking for a big payout after curfew!
Tempest in teapot! Anyone willing to admit that Bowden indeed does run "a tight ship"?
I realize that "perception" is rampant on FSU not running a "tight ship" spread largely by a UF controlled state media and an overzealous SA in Tally. However, the facts just don't bear out the "perception" and "reputation" FSU is saddled with.
If FSU truly was doing things wrong the NCAA would absolutely "hammer them" like they did UF Twice in the last 25 years and a couple of times with UM over the same period. Not that they haven't tried as the ridiculous "footlocker episode" proved.
One year probation with NO sanctions!!How hypocritical of the NCAA. Some players get some "free athletic wear" on a one time sponsored agent shopping spree and FSU still gets hammered today. On the other hand UF has most of their Team on the "take" from agents for nearly two years without a single UF official knowing anything? Yeh right!!
Well the bottom line is AJ was not so bad after all!! Here we are over a month later and no charges even filed?? Just some kid's life slandered by some cheap no good trollop looking for a buck!!
posted on May 2, 2006 2:23 PM — link — abuse?
Nicholson spoke about it some interviews with Cincinnati press. No resolution yet.
posted on May 12, 2006 8:18 PM — 68.46.229.152 — link — abuse?
Sitting in Tallahassee at this moment, and being from the Florida panhandle, I think the tightness of the ship in FSU athletics is on par with the tightness of the ship at FSU in general. There is no secret that if you want an education you go to UF, UCF or FAMU. If you want to party you go to FSU.
If there is an appearance of bad behavior in FSU athletics relative to other institutions, I beleive it is corrolated to the party atmoshere surrounding FSU in general significantly more than to lack of dicipline by the athletics department.
Now, if you will pardon me, I shall now go participate in the FSU atmoshere now that spring classes are over, and everyone has time to party.
Martin said:
posted on May 17, 2006 2:47 PM — 128.186.53.219 — link — abuse?
Ben Prather,
You seem to think that FSU is some acception to college to typical party life, and also not an academic institution. If you don't think Gators, Knights, and Rattlers know how to party as Noles do, you need to get around more. i.e. out of the panhandle. I've personally whitnessed wild parties in all of the locations you have whitnessed. It's just part of college life. Personally, I came to FSU to get an education. And I don't like to participate in the FSU atmosphere you described.
If you are trying to argue the college party atmosphere makes criminals of people (i.e. rapists, drug addicts, gamblers, and assualters) then maybe you shouldn't participate in such activities. Obviously there must be more to it i.e. the individual. And I think your impression of FSU being so much more of a party (rather than academic) institution than the rest of the state is a little off. FSU atheletes are not the only ones who commit crimes or have commited crimes, and FSU students are not the only ones who party.kb said:
posted on May 25, 2006 4:40 PM — 68.42.57.69 — link — abuse?
AJ was never charged...period
As far as education goes...Florida, unlike FSU, did not make the approved list by graduating 70% of their football players...
The VGMC (Vast Gator Media Conspiracy)plays up Rix parking in a handicap spot while the world doesn't here of Gator footbal players shooting live rounds from a semi automatic rifle through the walls of neighbors at an apartment complex.
knowwhatsup said:
posted on May 30, 2006 4:19 PM — 152.1.49.177 — link — abuse?
Listen, I am a student at Bowden's protege's school....Mr. Chuck Amato, and we have rediculous scenarios like this too. Want to talk about scandal? Book a trip to Raleigh. Yes, while these KIDS are SUPPOSED to be mature adults and make their own decisions, they need some serious guidance. I have seen it too many times over here. A presumaly nice young kid signs to our program and does not any longer know how to act like a human being. I fault the coaches, the AD's the whole political framework of the game. I mean, what team do you know that their players aren't commiting NCAA violations on a daily basis. It all goes back to recruiting, and Chuck got his tactics from Bowden, and they both seem to have a problem keeping discipline. The difference between FSU and NC State? NCSU keeps it under wraps and you would never know what is going on. I'm sure it happens everywhere but Chuck and Bobby have some serious issues on their hands. They are supposed to be role models. Instead of disciplining them, they make it go away. Why is it that all the rest of us must learn from our mistakes, and get punished for them? Its societies fault folks. We put these teenage kids on a pedastal, so they think the world revolves around them. Only problem is, when they dont make it, (like 90% of them dont) they will realize what an injustice their coaches have created for them. Because in the real world, you pay the consequences for your actions, and you actually have to DO your work. Bottom line: they all think they are going to the league.
Mike said:
posted on June 20, 2006 8:34 AM — 66.184.191.98 — link — abuse?
Is it possible that you're blaming Bobby for Chuck Amato's discipline problems at NC State? Are you kidding me? Chuck is a grown man who can make his own choices. Giving Bobby grief for NC State is liking blaming George HW Bush for the disaster that Dubya has been.
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Kevin Donahue said:
posted on December 29, 2005 1:51 PM — link — abuse?We can all agree that details are sketchy right now, but Bowden sending him packing is a pretty clear indication that something major is definitely cooking.
If Nicholson is charged with rape, his draft position probably won't too high on his priority list.