Well, this is certainly an interesting development.
Early Friday, arrest warrants were issued for a pair of LSU football players -- quarterback Jordan Jefferson and linebacker Josh Johns -- on felony charges of second-degree battery. Both players were represented by attorney Nathan Fisher, who accompanied his clients to the East Baton Rouge Parish prison as they turned themselves in on the charges. Less than 12 hours later, however, Fisher has been kicked, so to speak, to the curb.
According to multiple media accounts, both Jefferson and Johns have hired new local attorneys to represent them; the former Lewis Unglesby, the latter Thomas Damico. As both Jefferson and Johns have been suspended indefinitely by the LSU football program, it’s unclear if pro bono legal work would be a compliance no-no the second time around as well.
And, with new attorney’s in the mix, the expected lawyer rhetoric is already flowing. Especially as it pertains to an attorney who once represented former San Francisco 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo.
“The case is a zero case or a misdemeanor case at most,” Jefferson’s attorney, Unglesby, said.
“It’s been way over-hyped from the legal perspective and overcharged from the legal perspective. The shame of it will be if the accusation by itself works to prohibit (Jefferson’s) opportunities to continue on with his athletic and academic career. That would be very unfair when six months from now the smoke clears and everyone realizes he didn’t do anything wrong. But he’s paid a dear, dear price for just being accused.”
Unglesby also decided to play the “kids will be kids” card, telling the Baton Rouge Advocate that "[t]his is college students acting like college students on both sides.” The attorney also added “I don’t buy into the word ‘victim’ at all”, apparently alluding to one of the individuals who was, according to the police report, kicked in the face while he was on the ground and after he’d already (allegedly) gotten his ass beat.
Johns’ attorney, on the other hand, was a tad bit more restrained, telling the Advocate that he was surprised by his client’s arrest and that, the paper writes, he does not believe his client is guilty or that his client was involved in the fight.
Both players have been suspended indefinitely. It’s unclear how Jefferson and Johns will pay Unglesby and Damico, respectively, for their services as well as what legal services Fisher had previously provided before he got dumped.