Why Texas Tech football should stop recruiting accused felon Tulley-Tillman
The United States’ justice system is built on the assumption of innocence, that is to say that everyone is to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. So until former Michigan offensive tackle Logan Tulley-Tillman is convicted of the felonious charges levied against him in Michigan he is to be presumed innocent, but that does not mean Texas Tech should continue to recruit him.
On September 4th, 2015 Tillman had a sexual encounter with a woman in Ann Arbor, Michigan during which he is alleged to have made two separate recordings of the sexual act without the permission of the woman involved.
"According to NBCSports.com, “Tuley-Tillman was officially charged with two counts of capturing/distributing an image of an unclothed person and one count of using a computer to commit a crime.”"
Tillman has entered a plea of “not guilty” and is awaiting trial early this year. In the meantime, he has been granted permission by the courts to leave the state in order to take official recruiting visits.
Apparently, one school in which he is interested is Texas Tech. The Lubbock Avalanche Journal is reporting that Tillman and Texas Tech offensive line coach Lee Hayes have mutual interest in bringing the former Wolverine into the fold at Tech to possibly replace 2015 left tackle Le’Raven Clark.
But Texas Tech should stay far away from Tillman. Why can’t Texas Tech find other options at tackle than trying to sift through the rubble of players dismissed from a team after facing serious criminal charges?
Has Kingsbury and his staff learned nothing from Baylor’s recruitment of defensive end Sam Ukwuachu who was kicked off of the Boise State roster after an alleged domestic violence incident? The former freshman all-American found refuge in Waco where he would be convicted of sexually assaulting a female student at Baylor setting off one of the biggest controversies of the year. Link
Why would Texas Tech even consider taking a chance on a player with alleged sexual crimes pending against him? Again, Tillman has not been proven guilty but is he worth the risk?
The Illinois native was a 4-star recruit coming out of high school in 2013 and was slated to be in the Michigan offensive line rotation last year. It is obvious that Tillman fits a need that Texas Tech may have but at what price?
If the charges against Tillman are proven to be true, the incident shows a horiffic lack of judgment on his part as well as an indifference to the well-being of the woman with whom he was involved.
Furthermore, this is not the first questionable video with which Tillman has been involved. In the music video below, which features images of firearms and drug use, Tillman can be seen dancing around in the back of the group (he is the one in the American flag t-shirt).
(Warning: Video contains explicit language and images that may be offensive and inappropriate for some viewers. NSFW)
Again it must be asked why would Texas Tech want to take a chance on such a person? There appears to be a history of questionable decision-making on behalf of Tillman and if the Red Raiders play with fire, they may very well be burned.
Some would point to the fact that Texas Tech has allowed players like Nigel Bethel II and Jace Amaro to remain on the roster after showing poor judgment. Bethel was seen on video punching a member of the Lady Raider basketball team during a pick-up basketball game at the student recreation center and Amaro was charged with fraud after using another person’s credit card to pay his tab at a restaurant.
But neither of those incidents involve the three-letter-word that is such a flash-point issue in today’s world: S-E-X.
When allegations of sexual misconduct are in play, the seriousness of the issue is taken to an entirely different level. In recent years, a greater emphasis has been placed on preventing sexual assaults at America’s universities, and rightfully so.
According to the Detroit Free Press , “The woman told investigators that she wouldn’t have consented to sex if she had been sober, according to police documents obtained through an open-records request.”
Texas Tech should not want to be involved with anything remotely associated with sexual misconduct of any nature. No matter how good a player may be, the Red Raiders should steer clear of red flags as obvious as the ones raised by criminal charges.
The wheels of justice grind slowly so a final verdict in Tillman’s case may not be reached for some months and by then he will have decided upon where to transfer. Texas Tech is only one of a large number of schools pursuing Tillman and this pursuit is happening prior to a final verdict being reached because in the world of college football recruiting, teams are desperate to add talented players while overlooking warning signs because they fear that the player may end up playing for a rival school (Texas is also recruiting Tillman by the way).
I do not know Tillman personally. He may be an upstanding citizen who has been falsely accused of a crime he did not commit.
But until his fate has been proven in a court of law, Texas Tech should stay away from Tillman (or any player facing charges of sexual misconduct). Winning at all costs is not what Texas Tech should be about.
No matter how talented Logan Tulley-Tillman may be, Texas Tech needs to move on from him and pursue other options on the offensive line. I would hope that our university would take the lead in standing up against sexual crimes committed against women rather than risking the university’s reputation on a player that could possibly be a convicted felon by the time he steps on campus.
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Texas Tech’s school song, “The Matador Song” tells Red Raiders to “strive for honor”. This is one situation where the university has the opportunity to do just that by taking a stand and having conviction when it comes to the type of person the football team choses to allow to represent Texas Tech.