After an extended forced sabbatical, Oklahoma’s Joe Mixon is back.
In mid-August of last year, Mixon was suspended by OU for the entire 2014 season, a punitive measure that meant the running back would be excluded from any and all team activities. The one-year suspension came about after Mixon was accused of punching a woman in a late-July confrontation, breaking four bones in her face and leaving her unconscious. Media covering OU viewed a copy of the security tape that caught the exchange, including the knockout punch, between the woman and Mixon; Mixon’s attorney had previously claimed the altercation was preceded by racial slurs.
In late October, a plea deal was reached in the case that helped Mixon avoid a trial. A little over four months later, the football program confirmed that the touted 2014 signee is back.
“He made a split-second and wrong decision, and he knows that,” running backs coach Cale Gundy said according to Tulsa World. “He is a super, super kid. And I use the term ‘kid’ because he still is like a kid. He’s still very young.
“I’m proud of him for what he did. Obviously he was punished and rightfully so for whatever President Boren and the University of Oklahoma decided to do. There were things he had to do that kept him away from our football team and our locker room and our weight room, and it was hard on him.”
It was also hard on the alleged victim, Amelia Molitor. From the same paper:
Mixon was a five-star member of the Sooners’ 2014 recruiting class, rated as the No. 1 running back and the No. 8 player at any position in the country. He was the highest-rated member of an OU class that was ranked 15th in the country.