If Mixon had done what he did to the girl to another man, he would have been charged with assault as well, there would be equality except for the fact that we make exceptions for athletes because “they are special”. Mixon and his buddies basically sexually harassed the young woman, if he wasn’t a college football player he could be charged legally with intimidation and harassment for what he and his buddies did. They verbally harassed her, she told them to get lost, they kept making all kinds of rude statements to her, and told the creep to get lost, she walked away (an important fact those defending Mixon leave out), and he and his buddies followed her into the place and continued to harass her.
Among other things, the fact that he and his goon buddies wouldn’t let her alone legally could justify her or anyone else responding (I suggest you look up the concept of fighting words and what the courts have said about them), not to mention that several full grown men versus one relatively small women can easily be considered to be menacing, and in a court arguing she was the aggressor, committed assault, in light of what Mixon and his buddies did to her (again, they followed her and continued to get in her face, and we are talking big men versus one woman who isn’t exactly Ronda Rousey) would be laughed at of court (well, I guess except in Oklahoma if the guy was an OU football player) . Not to mention it is laughable that Mixon had to throw the girl like a ragdoll like that, from the video it is pretty obvious the girl didn’t have a weapon and someone Mixon’s size and strength could easily subdue her, he wasn’t in a fight or flight moment there, he was pissed that she told him she wouldn’t go with him in a million years, was enraged in fact, and at that moment decided to do what I would bet good money he has done in the past, assault her (someone who could do that to someone defenseless, man or a woman, is one messed up person). Not only that, but he did what he did, then he basically ran away, someone in a moment of passion can do something like that then regret it, he and his buddies left without even trying to see if she was alright, like she was a piece of garbage they had put in a garbage can.
And others are right, part of the problem is Mixon and people like him are enabled all along the line and it has to stop, and yes examples have to be made. Ray Rice was the perfect example of what happens, he was a grown man who his whole life had his behavior excused, and if that tape had not come out likely the NFL would have done nothing to him for knocking out his fiancee. It reminds me to a large extent of the initial response when Mike Vick got busted for the cruel dogfighting ring he was bankrolling and the disgusting things he himself did, saying that it was no big deal (Whoopy Goldberg’s famous line was “it is a southern boy thang”, as if that justified it), if it wasn’t for public outrage likely he would have faced misdemeanor charges from the Georgia cops and the NFL might have slapped him on the wrist.
As far as Mixon being 18, please, you can argue all you want that people don’t really become adults until 25, that their minds aren’t fully formed, but someone by the age of 18 knows well enough that harassing a girl like that and then assaulting is wrong, pure and simple. 18 year old kids serve in the military, and when they violate orders, when they violate human rights or commit atrocities, they face severe penalties,they face the consequences, and believe me, their age would be little justification for giving them a slap on the wrist, so why should it be different for an 18 year old as in this case?
He got off lightly, being drafted in the second round means he will still get a pretty sizable contract, and it is sending a message to the high school coaches and college coaches and college police departments and prosecutors that when it comes to athletes, they deserve different rules. Doesn’t surprise me Cincinnati drafted him, take a look at some of the gems they already have on their payroll, like Pacman Jones and Burfict, he joins illustrious company.
I also wonder at those saying Mixon paid his debt, that he was contrite, that he has been a model citizen, etc, how they would feel if it was their sister or daughter he harassed like that and then brutally slammed to the ground and then saw the slap on the wrist he got,(gee, Oklahoma suspended him for one season), I doubt they would think going in the second round was sufficient punishment either. No, I don’t think Mixon should be hounded for the rest of his days, as much as I love animals I felt Vick paid the penalty for what he did, but I think that he got off lightly primarily because he was a football player, had another 18 year old kid done that to a young woman, he likely would face hard time in jail. At some point whether you are a kid who is a nobody or a kid who is a gifted athlete there has to be equal consideration under the law, if an ordinary student at OU did what he did on tape even, that kid likely would be expelled from school and likely would face harsher penalties, is then what happened with Mixon fair?