Wednesday afternoon, the Tulsa World reported that TU All-American returnman, and the Hurricanes biggest offensive playmaker, Damaris Johnson was charged with felony embezzlement. The charges of course stem from the allegations made by Tulsa Police that Johnson used his girlfriends debit card to acquire thousands of dollars in merchandise from a Tulsa area Macy's at an enormous discount.
According to a police report, Johnson used Jones’ debit card Aug. 20 to pay for $1,596.09 worth of merchandise, but was charged only $12.91 by Jones. The report also states that on Aug. 25, Johnson paid 34 cents for $1,238.75 worth of merchandise.
$0.034? Thirty four cents?
As a Miner fan, part of me wants to celebrate this. It's only natural because we all know how instrumental Johnson was to the success of the Tulsa offense and to their special teams. We can appreciate his tremendous talent. But, as a fan of the C-USA and college football in general, it's hard not to feel upset about what this means to the league as well.
Say what? Today, the C-USA lost one of their best NFL prospects. Today, one of the C-USA's strongest squads lost a player that could be the difference between a close loss and a major win over a BCS league team. Today, the C-USA lost a talent we simply don't get to see every year. While I reflected on the loss of Damaris Johnson (who is still suspended infefinitely) I couldn't help but feel bad for TU.
Then, I went back and read the Tulsa World's reports. 34 cents? Maybe its time to put my sorrow elsewhere.
Well, just another day in the C-USA.