{"id":5558,"date":"2013-06-26T06:59:15","date_gmt":"2013-06-26T10:59:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=5558"},"modified":"2013-06-26T08:58:33","modified_gmt":"2013-06-26T12:58:33","slug":"jmu-dismisses-corey-davis-and-xavier-crocker-from-the-football-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=5558","title":{"rendered":"JMU Dismisses Corey Davis and Xavier Crocker From the Football Team"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>JMU announced that Corey Davis and Xavier Crocker have been dismissed from the football team for a violation of team rules. No further details were provided by the athletic department, but the announcement comes on the heels of DNR report<\/a>\u00a0(behind paywall) that the two former players were present at an off-campus shooting over the weekend. This is the second time that Davis has been punished<\/a> for a violation of team rules.<\/p>\n

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According to the report, Davis and Crocker went to a house at the Overlook at Stone Brook last Saturday to buy some weed from Nicholas Dixon. Dixon became upset with the former players\u2019 payment and fired several rifle shots at the car they were riding in. Neither Davis nor Crocker were injuried, but the driver of the car, Danyelle Kent-Robinson, was hit three times. Police say that Kent-Robinson had no knowledge that Davis and Crocker were attempting to buy drugs. She was first treated at Rockingham Memorial Hospital before being flown to UVA Medical Center on Monday, where she remains in critical but stable condition. Dixon and his two accomplices have already been arrested.<\/p>\n

Davis is a redshirt junior who started at cornerback last year. He had a total of 40 tackles (25 solo), 4 passes defensed, and 1 fumble recovery for the season. Crocker redshirted last year and was a member of JMU\u2019s highly touted recruiting class from two years ago. He had an outstanding high school career, in which he excelled on both sides of the ball as a receiver and defensive back. Both players are replaceable, but this is definitely a loss for the Dukes.<\/p>\n

Obviously, the real tragedy here is that an innocent person was shot. Because Davis and Crocker were football players however, the story will likely draw more attention. And that\u2019s both expected and fair.<\/p>\n

College kids everywhere make dumb decisions. This was a bad decision with particularly bad consequences though.\u00a0JMU simply can’t afford to have “football players”, “drug deal” and “shooting” showing up in headlines. Mickey\u00a0(if in fact it was his call) had no wiggle room. He couldn’t afford to let this simmer. He had to act quickly and decisively and he did. Because there are always people who want the coach held accountable for the actions of his players 24\/7, but there tends to be a lot more of them when the wins aren’t piling up like they used to.<\/p>\n