Oregon's LaMichael James Pleads Guilty To Misdemeanor

Oregon’s nightmarish offseason continued Friday morning when freshman running back LaMichael James pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor harassment charge and was sentenced to 10 days in jail and two years of probation.

James, who set a Pac-10 freshman record with 1,546 rushing yards last season, faced five misdemeanor charges, including menacing, strangulation and assault, for a Feb. 15 incident in which a former girlfriend claimed James grabbed her neck and pushed her to the ground. All but the harassment charge were dropped.

Ducks coach Chip Kelly has previously said he’d wait until the court’s decision before he decided on a punishment for James and quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, who was also scheduled to appear in court today, along with recently dismissed receiver Garrett Embry, for charges stemming from a theft at an Oregon fraternity house in January.

James was scheduled to report to jail today, but it was unclear whether he would serve additional jail time. The Lane County Sheriff’s Department may decide to place James in a diversion program.

For all things Oregon, log onto the Addicted to Quak blog.

More bad news for the suddenly troubled Oregon football program. Linebacker Kiko Alsono will be suspended for the entire 2010 season following his DUI arrest last Saturday, according to OregonLive.com.

But even worse for the Ducks was the dismissal of wide receiver Jamere Holland, who took to Facebook in a profanity-laced tirade upon hearing false rumors that Kiko had been kicked off the team. According to the New York Daily News, Holland criticized the team after mistakenly believing that Kiko had been dismissed, before posting:

I wish I could block whites as friends and only have blacks LOL, cause apparently I’m misunderstood

Head coach Chip Kelly refused to go into specifics about why Holland was no longer on the team, although he told reporters that they were “smart enough to figure it out.”

Via the Oregonian, here's what Chip Kelly had to say about Oregon's recent turmoil, including LaMichael James' arrest on domestic abuse charges, among other Oregon offenses:

"We're always going to do things the right way, and if a player doesn't live up to the standards we have for the football program, then they're not going to be here. But I'm also not going to follow our kids around every Friday or Saturday night so I can see what happened to them."

And then... Just a few hours after that press conference, third-year linebacker Kiko Alonso was arrested for drunk driving. It's yet another embarassing incident for Oregon, the program that'd previously been famous for cool uniforms and finishing second to USC. Now that this latest arrest has made a mockery of Coach Kelly's comments and the criminal charade continues, the rest of us can only wonder. What the hell is going on in Eugene, Oregon?

For more on Oregon football, check out SB Nation's Oregon blog, Addicted to Quack

Oregon head coach Chip Kelly spoke about the LaMichael James situation today, along with other disciplinary issues facing the Ducks. As for James, it looks like Kelly is waiting to see how everything plays out.

“There can’t be a rush to judgement,” Kelly said at a noon press conference. “When a decision is made, and if he’s convicted, we’ll make a decision.”

Which is just fine by our Oregon blog, Addicted to Quack.

It seems like there are clear rules for the team, and Kelly will not hesitate to make a decision, when he has all the facts. It’s very important that we consider this, as Kelly was very clear that there will not be a rush to judgement. In fact, Kelly did not talk to LaMichael James until last night.

To me, this is what I want to see from our head coach. I have no doubt that Kelly will not tolerate these types of incidents, and will bring down the hammer when necessary. But it’s also about doing what is just, and to improve the character of the men on the team.

Good luck trying to get that to catch on outside Eugene.