Johnny Jolly Interviewed About His Addiction to Drugs (Erik Barajas)

ok thats all well n good, but what i want to know is he in playing shape and ready to go if Aaron bails his arse out?

Lawrence Taylor did it on blow.

I'll bet he wasn't the only one either. Micheal Irvin?

Didn't he deny it to the bitter end?

He needed to get away from the homeboys in Houston. Someone on the team should have known what was happening and beat his azz.

Sad story. He did know the rules, but broke them anyways. His NFL career is over, but perhaps he can salvage his life.

I'm not sure what you are talking about FarmDog. He did plead extenuating circumstances to the judge (sent him a note), and IIRC his lawyer said he was not trying to distribute.

GBFanForLife, everyone on the Packers team knew exactly what was going on with Jolly and NFL rules prevented any of them from doing anything about, officially. You should probably take a listen to the Tuesdays with Aaron episodes with Wilde and see if I'm wrong on this one. Jolly might be in a different situation if he would have been allowed to stay in GB facilities after his first suspension.

quote:

Originally posted by GBFanForLife:
He needed to get away from the homeboys in Houston. Someone on the team should have known what was happening and beat his azz.

Teams should be allowed to have guys on suspension for substance abuse to be at the facility for all non-practice functions (so they do not give an unfair advantage as extra practice bodies). If he had been allowed to stay in Green Bay and keep working out, going to team/position meetings and spending time with his teammates at the facility, I seriously doubt he would be in prison right now.

[/QUOTE]Teams should be allowed to have guys on suspension for substance abuse to be at the facility for all non-practice functions (so they do not give an unfair advantage as extra practice bodies). If he had been allowed to stay in Green Bay and keep working out, going to team/position meetings and spending time with his teammates at the facility, I seriously doubt he would be in prison right now.[/QUOTE]

Totally agree, as long as the guy wasn't busted for distribution. I think the commish's office would have to have a hand in it as well as a judge to be sure it's in the guy's best interest. It would be tough to trust teams to not abuse the system, but I think most teams would allow a guy like Jolly to hang around. It would be a balancing act so the banned player doesn't become a distraction, but you'd think there could be some exceptions. Half the time these guys get in trouble when they're on suspension or in the off season is only because they lack the discipline they get when they are accountable to a team and its schedule.

When on suspension or the off season, they need to either stick with a team and its accountability or they need to spend some of the millions they make on paid babysitters to keep them out of trouble. It's too bad Jolly didn't at least stay in GB rather than go back to Houston.

The IR system is just as easy to abuse. Guys are allowed to rehab, attend team meetings and hang out at the facility, but they can't practice. Bill Belichick is a guy that has been caught using IRed players as extra practice squad players. Jolly was a guy who just needed guidance and to be able to keep his "eyes on the prize" by continuing to be around his team.

Jolly didn't "need" to be in Green Bay. It was up to him to take care of himself. Looking to others to constantly bail you out of tough situations is no way to go through life.

quote:

Jolly didn't "need" to be in Green Bay.

The authorities didn't "need" to go after Jolly for harming himself. And even if he were distributing, the people who bought from him made that choice themselves.

Surrounding yourself with positive influences is a way to go through life.

quote:

Originally posted by Green Crustacean:
Sad story. He did know the rules, but broke them anyways. His NFL career is over, but perhaps he can salvage his life.

I'm not sure what you are talking about FarmDog. He did plead extenuating circumstances to the judge (sent him a note), and IIRC his lawyer said he was not trying to distribute.

GBFanForLife, everyone on the Packers team knew exactly what was going on with Jolly and NFL rules prevented any of them from doing anything about, officially. You should probably take a listen to the Tuesdays with Aaron episodes with Wilde and see if I'm wrong on this one. Jolly might be in a different situation if he would have been allowed to stay in GB facilities after his first suspension.

Green Bay Packers

Jolly was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in round six, pick 183 of the 2006 NFL Draft.

During his rookie season, Jolly struggled to get much playing time due to their deep defensive tackle rotation early in the season, but managed to get extensive playing time in the final four games of the 2006 season due to injuries of the more experienced players.

However, in his second year with Green Bay, he was promoted to starter in place of Corey Williams. He excelled at the position until becoming injured right before a game against the Dallas Cowboys.



[edit] Criminal charges

On July 8, 2008, Houston police arrested Jolly for possession of at least 200 grams of codeine, a second-degree felony. He appeared at court on July 22. He became the first Packer since 2000 to stand trial on a felony charge. Charges against Jolly were dismissed in a Texas court on July 16, but were refiled shortly after on December 2009. The dismissal stemmed from police awaiting new equipment that measures codeine amounts.[1]

On July 16, 2010, with trial (oft-delayed) scheduled for the end of the month, the NFL officially suspended Jolly "indefinitely." His agent Dan Thompson has no official comment at this time, however, Jolly's leading defense attorney, Travis Damian, has filed a report with new and updated findings which may lead to a possible acquittal of the "indefinite" league suspension. As a result of being suspended, he missed out on the Packers Super Bowl XLV championship season.[2]

On February 11, 2011, Jolly began the process of applying for reinstatement. He was under contract with the Packers until the end of the 2011 season.[3]

On March 25, 2011, Jolly was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute after police allegedly found 600 grams of codeine in his vehicle.[4] In addition, he was caught driving a car with a suspended license.[5] Jolly was arrested and charged again on October 1, for possession of codeine and tampering with evidence by trying to hide the drug.[6]

On November 17, 2011 Jolly was sentenced to 6 years in prison for violation of probation in conjunction to his arrest for possession of narcotics.[7]

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Jolly

The flag in NJ needs to be flown at half staff when Jolly dies

quote:

Originally posted by Iowacheese:
The flag in NJ needs to be flown at half staff when Jolly dies

Hey, alright!

quote:

Originally posted by Green Crustacean:
Surrounding yourself with positive influences is a way to go through life.

If you were dumb enough to keep suckin the sizzurp, why does anyone think by staying in Green Bay was going to be positive?
I mean you were basically a junkie, you don't have to be in Houston to be fricked up.

He could nod and smile all day long at the facility but when the sun goes down, the sizzurp goes down ... bad things happen. jmo.

FarmDog,

I've had a day to ruminate. I think that I agree through out the whole process he did plead not guilty. So that proves your point. I was mostly thinking about the whole intention to distribute thing as well as any influence the gang had on him.

Others,
If Jolly was such a turd then he shouldn't have been on the team in the first place. My impression from understanding the team building process of TT and listening to Rodgers and others on the team comment through the press is that he was not a turd, but just an uneducated weak personality that could have been molded. If he was to have a chance to turn things around, he needed positive influences and not his gang friends with no future. If he was going to take advantage of the chances afforded to him by the judge, he needed to build a better environment around himself. I doubt that environment was readily available in Houston given the influences that started him on sizzurp. I also doubt he was smart enough or strong enough to resist those influences in his childhood home. If he was in GB he may well have continued his sizzurp consumption as per 2009, but going back to Houston, he had no chance. If he did continue sizzurp in GB, he also probably would not have been caught, and his story would have been more like Lawrence Taylor's (with the exception of HOF play).

TT knew that they were taking a risk. Jolly was a 1st round talent with off the field issues going into the draft. I was surprised at how far he fell when GB took him in the 6th. Anyway Jolly, like Harrell & now Neal did/have not worked out so well for GB.

Going forward, I hope TT finds a really good DE with no character or health issues. I hope it isn't like winning the lottery. But I will do my part and eat as many bowls of Lucky Charms as it takes.

quote:

Originally posted by Green Crustacean:
Surrounding yourself with positive influences is a way to go through life.

This is why I come here. That and Free Food Fridays.

Thing is report and rumor after rumor is that GB did everything short of mandating that Jolly could not go back to Houston. Jolly claimed it was to visit his mother and family and MM and his position coach said fine want to see them? We will fly them up here. It appears the Packers did all they could to prevent him from going there but ultimately he chose his own fate. And sadly, he got more then one get out of free jail card and still took the risk, played with fire then got burned.

The other sad thing is GB has yet to replace him. He was a very talented DE in the 3-4 and could teach a clinic on blocking/batting passes down. It's just a shame at 28 he's sitting in prison vs where his life could have gone.

quote:

Originally posted by Green Crustacean:
FarmDog,

I've had a day to ruminate. I think that I agree through out the whole process he did plead not guilty. So that proves your point. I was mostly thinking about the whole intention to distribute thing as well as any influence the gang had on him.

Others,
If Jolly was such a turd then he shouldn't have been on the team in the first place. My impression from understanding the team building process of TT and listening to Rodgers and others on the team comment through the press is that he was not a turd, but just an uneducated weak personality that could have been molded. If he was to have a chance to turn things around, he needed positive influences and not his gang friends with no future. If he was going to take advantage of the chances afforded to him by the judge, he needed to build a better environment around himself. I doubt that environment was readily available in Houston given the influences that started him on sizzurp. I also doubt he was smart enough or strong enough to resist those influences in his childhood home. If he was in GB he may well have continued his sizzurp consumption as per 2009, but going back to Houston, he had no chance. If he did continue sizzurp in GB, he also probably would not have been caught, and his story would have been more like Lawrence Taylor's (with the exception of HOF play).

Its an all around sad situation.

quote:

Surrounding yourself with positive influences Being responsible for your own actions is a way to go through life.

Not a personal attack against anyone; JMHO

quote:

Originally posted by Fedya:
The authorities didn't "need" to go after Jolly for harming himself...

Totally agree, Fedya.
Nobody could ever convince me that this benefits the 'state'. There's way too many people locked up for non-violent crime, and not only limited to drug-related infractions.
As far as I'm concerned, any athlete could partake in any drug of their choice. I'm not too crazy about steroid use, but, again, if they choose to do so, it's no sweat off my back. I don't have to live with the consequences of their choices; only mine.

Disagree, lock them up. Maybe all in the same facility for similar drug-addicted
offenses so concentrated help is there.

Personnally seen where dregs like this initiate inexperienced-possible-borderline-losers into the same crap ... and laugh about it.

JMO.