When Joe Mixon's 2014 misdemeanor charge led to Norman Police deleting pointed Twitter response
Back in 2014, Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon was still playing for the University of Oklahoma. The Bengals ended up drafting Mixon in 2017, a move that was questioned online.
An arrest warrant was recently issued for the 26-year-old under the charges of 'aggravated menacing'. A day later, the charges were dropped. However, they will be filed at a later date. This brought some of Mixon's history back to center stage.
A 2014 incident had people questioning Joe Mixon. Mixon hit a female student in the face, which was captured on surveillance video. After an investigation, Mixon was officially charged with misdemeanor assault.
As per the victim (Amelia Molitor), Joe Mixon punched her in the face after he and his friends approached her with unwanted sexual advances. Things escalated when they used homophobic slurs and the punch broke four bones in her face.
"He punched me one time," Molitor revealed in an interview. "He broke my face in four places ... my nose, my sinuses ... they're broken."
The case was later settled after the two met privately.
Mixon's high school coach spoke up, defending the running back:
"You guys haven't seen the real Joe," Hartwig said. "When you do, you'll understand what I mean when I say that. A split-second does not represent the man I've known for four years."
He received an unexpected response from the Norman Police Department on Twitter:
"Not his daughter was it?"
Norman Police Department's official Twitter account, on Joe Mixon in a since-deleted tweet. Wow. http://t.co/sllQSYlN01
The response was quickly deleted.
Previously, Hartwig had refused to chime in on the whole situation. However, he spoke about the incident to The Oklahoman about Mixon's overall attitude.
"I think Oklahoma has done a great job in supporting him, you know, being so far away from his support system here," Hartwig said.
They even spoke about Joe Mixon being homesick, and how remained commited to playing football. After he was charged, Mixon missed one full season with the Sooners. He was able to attend classes, but did not take part in team activities.
The Bengals drafted Joe Mixon despite his off-field trouble
The Bengals are, on their end, known to sign problematic players (like Adam Jones and Chris Henry) to their team. Many were convinced Joe Mixon would have been a top-five draft pick if not for the 2014 assault incident.
Charge against Joe Mixon has been dismissed but can be refilled. Listen to what just happened. @wlwt #breaking https://t.co/48w4CXbEKR
When the Bengals drafted him, fans immediately booed him at the venue. Mixon also did not receive an invitation to the NFL draft combine that year.
It seemed as though Mixon's troubles were behind him, but after brandishing a weapon at a woman this week, concerns have resurfaced.