{"id":7363,"date":"2017-04-30T08:20:28","date_gmt":"2017-04-30T12:20:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=7363"},"modified":"2017-04-30T08:20:28","modified_gmt":"2017-04-30T12:20:28","slug":"second-chances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=7363","title":{"rendered":"second chances?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Let\u2019s do this a little differently today. Let me share what I want to talk about before we begin. I don\u2019t want to get off track in the rabbit trails and red herrings. I don\u2019t want to minimize any detail, but I also don\u2019t want the specifics to keep us from wrestling with the underlying question. Let me be clear: the specifics are<\/em> hard. The audacity is unthinkable\u2026 sobering\u2026 and nothing short of infuriating. We will not minimize the severity. I simply want to talk about an underlying angle. I want to wrestle with the excellent question of: what\u2019s too much to pay?<\/p>\n

I want to talk about forgiveness. And consequence. I want to address pardon\u2026 propitiation\u2026 a restart, so-to-speak. I want to talk about second chances. When do they and when do they not apply? When does a person not deserve a second chance?<\/p>\n

And\u2026 who gets to decide that? Could different people, have different, okay\u00a0ways to proceed?<\/p>\n

Let me offer the awful example\u2026<\/p>\n

Joe Mixon is a 20 year old, aspiring NFL athlete. Soon after arriving on the college campus, one day after his 18th birthday, Mixon punched fellow student, Amelia Molitor, in the face, breaking multiple bones, requiring hospitalization, surgery, and a jaw wired shut. Not only did Molitor have to endure the physical recovery, she was also subject to the extended stares, shame, social media avenues attempting to blame her, and to the fans, attorneys, etc. who prioritized Mixon\u2019s football future over Molitor\u2019s mental and physical health.<\/p>\n

While the horrifying incident happened three years ago, the video wasn\u2019t released until last December, which spurred on even more stares at Molitor, more outrage directed at Mixon, and\u00a0more fans and attorneys attempting to minimize Mixon\u2019s criminal actions.<\/p>\n

Molitor has seemingly worked hard to heal and survive. Some would say she has found a way to thrive. Part of her chosen way through was to meet not long ago with Mixon.<\/p>\n

From Molitor on their meeting: \u201cJoe and I were able to meet privately, without any attorneys, and talk about our experiences since that night. I am encouraged that we will both be able to move forward from here with our lives. From our private discussions I am satisfied that we are going to put this behind us and work towards helping others who may have found themselves in similar circumstances.<\/em>
\nI greatly appreciate his apology and I think the feelings he expressed were sincere. We both could have handled things differently. I believe if we had a chance to go back to that moment in time, the situation would not have ended the way it did.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

From Mixon: “I’m thankful Mia and I were able to talk privately. I was able to apologize to her one-on-one. The way I reacted that night, that’s not me. That’s not the way I was raised. I think she understands that.<\/em>
\nTalking together helps move us past what happened. I know I have to keep working to be a better person, and this is another step in that direction. I love working with kids, and I’m looking forward to more chances to do that kind of work. I want to lead a life that inspires them, and I hope I can lead by example from today forward.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The initial incident was awful. The apology was also accepted. I\u2019m also not close enough to either Mixon or Molitor to gauge the depth of sincerity nor entirety of motive.<\/p>\n

Note that Joe Mixon is considered one of the most skilled NFL prospects \u2014 possibly, even, talent-worthy of being drafted in the top five or ten. When he was finally selected by the Bengals in the mid-second round Friday night, many were outraged \u2014\u00a0as character-worthy, prompts the controversy.<\/p>\n

If a person chooses to never cheer for Joe Mixon, they will find no active argument from the Intramuralist. If a person chooses to jeer, they will also find no argument. But if a person feels led to give a second chance to another \u2014 investing in him, walking alongside him, providing structure and discipline and helping him grow \u2014 you will also find no argument. A second chance is not a right, but it can be beautiful, contagious, and inspiring.<\/p>\n

Hence, this isn\u2019t about Joe Mixon, Amelia Molitor, the Bengals, or the NFL. The question is: when does a person deserve a second chance? Who gets to decide that? And is it ok that we will have different answers to that question?<\/p>\n

When an athlete, celebrity, public servant, felon, or friend, does<\/em> actually redeem themselves\u2026 when they do<\/em> grow, change, repent, and become a positive influence\u2026 when a person or relationship is redeemed or restored… is that not most beautiful?<\/p>\n

Tough, I know, as it only starts with a second chance and the specifics are hard. I just don\u2019t want to miss wrestling with the underlying questions\u2026 those that affect us all.<\/p>\n

Respectfully\u2026 always\u2026
\nAR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Let\u2019s do this a little differently today. Let me share what I want to talk about before we begin. I don\u2019t want to get off track in the rabbit trails and red herrings. I don\u2019t want to minimize any detail, but I also don\u2019t want the specifics to keep us from wrestling with the underlying … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “second chances?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-event"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7363"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7363\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7367,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7363\/revisions\/7367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}