TUSCALOOSA — It was an interesting choice of words Alabama Head Football Coach Nick Saban used Monday when he announced the suspension of freshman defensive back Tony Mitchell.
Mitchell was arrested in Florida last week on charges of marijuana possession with intent to sell and/or deliver.
“Tony Mitchell has been suspended from the team and all team activities until we get more information about the situation and what his legal circumstance is,” Saban said at a news conference after the team’s first spring practice. “Everybody’s got an opportunity to make choices and decisions. There’s no such thing as being in the wrong place at the wrong time. You’ve got to be responsible for who you’re with, who you’re around and what you do, and who you associate with and the situations you put yourself in.
“It is what it is. There is cause and effect when you make choices and decisions that put you in bad situations.”
Mitchell was a four-star prospect from Thompson High School in Alabaster.
According to reports, Mitchell was driving a vehicle and evaded police at 141 mph before being stopped. A passenger in the car, Christopher Lewis, was arrested on the marijuana charge, also, and for possession of a concealed firearm without a permit.
The police said they found a “significant amount” of marijuana, a set of scales, a loaded handgun, and a large amount of cash in Mitchell’s car.
Last month, Tide Head Basketball Coach Nate Oats, in talking about freshman Brandon Miller and his involvement in a fatal shooting in Tuscaloosa, said the freshman was in the “wrong spot at the wrong time.”
Oats later apologized for the remark.
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