UPDATE:
“I have recently learned that a comment I made about Joe Mixon on social media a few years ago is now receiving a lot of attention. I want to explain that comment and clarify that I do not believe Joe ever did anything to hurt my daughter,” Hernandez wrote.
“My daughter went to Freedom High School with Joe, and they have been friends for much of their lives. Once, when they were in school together, my daughter had a minor disagreement with some of her classmates that got blown out of proportion. Like any father would, I reacted emotionally. Unfortunately, I did so before I had all the facts. Now, having talked to my daughter and investigated the whole story, I realize that I was mistaken about Joe’s involvement. I definitely overreacted, and I regret that my words might have given some people the wrong impression about Joe. I know that Joe did not hurt my daughter, did not intend to, and would not do so.
“Joe and my daughter are still good friends. Joe is a great kid with a bright future in front of him, and he is welcome in my home anytime.
“My family and I value our privacy. I hope that my statement puts this matter to rest. We will not respond to further media inquiries about this.”
Blake Johnson also told PFT that he “spoke to multiple administrative officials at Freedom High School who assured me that no such incident ever took place there,” and that Mixon’s disciplinary record from high school reveals no such incident.
“Norman Police also ran Joe’s juvenile record with law enforcement in California and they had no record of any such report or incident (or any other criminal incident on part of Joe),” Johnson said via email. “I’m fairly confident that the incident described in Mr. Hernandez’s original [Facebook] post did not happen.”
Original Story:
ROTO WORLD - Oklahoma RB Joe Mixon allegedly punched a female while in high school.
The allegation comes from Anthony Hernandez, who says for a "fact" that Mixon hit his daughter when the two were in high school. "He threw my daughter to the ground and hit her," Hernandez said. "I went to the school and they hid him in the office. He got no punishment. The police even came. I was escorted off the campus as if I did something wrong. These are simply the facts, he's a woman beater." Longtime personnel man Gil Brandt said this incident is of concern among NFL teams, in addition to the video of Mixon laying out a girl with a punch at Oklahoma. Mixon could be drafted anywhere from Day 2 to being an UDFA.
So I guess this story is not exactly breaking news but nonetheless the report has been circulating the internet today and deserves some reporting.
Should we allow one father of a girl who went to high school with Mixon impact his draft position and future money? He comes in with some allegations that, from his perspective, seem credible and an indication of a long-term issue Mixon has had with abusing women. If you look at his statement from an outsiders perspective, it might actually show that Mixon's accuser was treated as a crazy accuser and escorted off the campus because of his claims without justification.
Either way, it's unfortunate (or is it) that the way this whole machine works allows for stories like this to impact draft position so close to the NFL Draft. Did he do it? This isn't the question you should be asking.
Is this horrible news for Mixon? You bet. Take away from it what you will, you saw the headline and read the accusation. So did every NFL GM today.