PR mentioned that Jeremy Banks slipped from early Day 3 range to UDFA range because of character questions. Thankfully, a simple google search can provide some answers.
Back in 2019 he got into more serious incidents which got him kicked off the team. Apparently Banks threatened a woman and berated a police officer. From KnoxTNToday: "Banks, a really good player, has a record. He got arrested and fired from the team a time or two during the Jeremy Pruitt era. Good reporters at WBIR-TV obtained police body-cam footage of one incident. Banks was shown making threats toward an officer The punchline was “Where I’m from, we shoot at cops.”
Well, somebody kept forgetting to lock the door when it hit him in the butt on the way out, because he kept getting back in.... because he's a good player I presume. And last season he apparently got into a fight with Hendon Hooker before the South Carolina game probably over NIL money. He got suspended and the defense tanked giving up 63 points to SC.
Apparently he did try to mend his ways along the way, taking rides with police officers (voluntarily) and going to church. I'm sure there's more to the story if I wanted to do more than five minutes of research on it, but I'd like to see PR do their job and get to the details. Maybe they could talk to Ronnie Lane who is an avid Tennessee football fan and probably has insight into it.
Well, Jeremy, you can thank the Bucs for giving you a nice landing spot. The Bucs certainly knew of these incidents and have decided to give him a chance anyway. But they have to know this stuff will not fly under the radar. I'm all in favor of giving people second chances in life, not just in football. Maybe this guy has learned from his mistakes for all I know.
But there needs to be some explaining to the fans about what's going on, by the team and by him. Expectations set. The fans don't need to just blindly trust the team to do what's right. There's more to being a fan these days than just watching the football part of it and forget the rest. You can't just sweep the players off-field actions under the rug and hope it doesn't come up. Fans have the right to have answers to character questions, and I'm sure this issue will come up going forward.
I won't try to presume what it feels like to be a black person in the south...
It doesn't excuse behavior but it does give it context.
Hope this kid gets it all together - both in life and on the field.
It wasn't just the incident with the police officer. For one, he was arrested because there was an active warrant for failing to appear in court on a traffic violation. So that's another incident. And then there's the incident where he threatened to hit a woman and there was some sort of stalking or something like that that went along with that. And forgive me for assuming that probably more stuff happened that he didn't get caught for. This is the SEC after all.I won't try to presume what it feels like to be a black person in the south...
It doesn't excuse behavior but it does give it context.
Hope this kid gets it all together - both in life and on the field.
But, like I said, maybe he grew out of that stuff, and I'm all for second chances, not just because he's a good football player. I think most of the time people should get the chance to grow and atone for mistakes and move on. The Bucs knew about all this, gave it consideration, and decided to give him a chance after the entire league passed on him in the draft because of it. He's probably a good enough player to make the team.
My point is that the fans deserve to hear the story, rather than just keeping it "in house." It should be above board. They deserve to hear from the player and the coaches. Fans are, in a way, a part of the team. It's a partnership. I don't want to be thought of as just a customer for a business.
All fair points
Who doesn’t do stupid stuff when they’re young?
no need to explain anything to the fans nor media. Especially anything before his time in Tampa.
im sure the Bucs interviewed him. Good enough for me.
glad we snagged him. Hopefully he makes the best of his opportunity & stays clean!
@debucsown while I agree with the sentiment, to me, he is on a tight leash. If he doesn't relapse into stupidity then you loosen it up. Totally up to him. Wish everything pans out.
I don't want to be thought of as just a customer for a business.
uh . .
?I don't want to be thought of as just a customer for a business.
uh . .
You (Bucs fans) are 100% a customer and ONLY a customer. Not only are you just a customer, but you're a well-understood customer. The NFL actually plays to the "partnership" feeling you desire over and over and over again. Here's a great local example
With Brady the team had a long season ticket waitlist. Brady retires. Reportedly, renewals drop. Brady unretires. The team responds by REQUIRING two year renewals of season tickets, even though Brady is obviously not going to be around. That's like a license to have a seat license to have a seat lol. How did the team describe the two year requirement? By telling the customers it was for their benefit (lol):
"One of our primary objectives as we go into each season is finding ways to create the best homefield advantage for our team. We want to provide loyal Buccaneers fans with the best opportunity to purchase the very limited number of seats that are available,’’ Bucs Chief Operating Officer Brian Ford said in a statement. “We pride ourselves on delivering the best gameday experience in the league and our fans are essential to that success. These additional ticket policies, as well as providing our no-interest 24 month payment plan, have been put into place to ensure that our true fans have the best options available for season pass memberships.”
Weird.
You would think all those "true fans" would renew for Kyle Trask!!!!
(Its a great business model)
I am a fan myself, a lifelong fan. And long time season ticket holder. So, my comment above is NOT a criticism, its just pointing out the almost comical way the NFL trips all over itself to portray itself as something other than a business . . even as its franchises are some of the most valuable sports businesses in the world.
Fans have absolutely zero right to get any answers to anything. That includes why Byron Leftwich was terrible without Bruce & why Brady seemed behind him 100%. The only right a fan has is to decide to be a fan. This society is so F'd up and most of it are all of these right to this and right to that entitled brats who demand a right to things that are none of their business. As a collective, a group of fans might influence a team's operations by withholding their cash.
Of course it's a business but stop being so cynical. We all know it's a business and we're customers. Come on, Cigs, you don't think I know we are customers? But it's more than that. Why aren't you posting on the Panera board? You go there all the time. It's a good business. They even have you trained to bus your own tables and still give them a tip before you see your food. They have you totally trained, but you still wouldn't call yourself a fan and put a Panera banner on your truck. And I venture to guess you aren't posting on any website about the new assistant manager position opening up or why they took away the 99 cent cookies.
There is an emotional aspect of following a team that isn't there with other businesses. We're fans, not just customers. They're a team. Yes they're employees, but it goes beyond that. There is comradery and a desire to win that goes beyond just earning a paycheck. Try to tell Mike Alstott or John Lynch that they were just employees. I don't think they'd agree with you. Even the owners know they have a responsibility to the fans and the community. Of course the almighty dollar is #1, but they also worry about the way they are viewed in the community and what their role is in the community. There is a social aspect, it's not just money.
So you can save your cynicism, or Cigs, or maybe I'll see you over on the Panera chat board but I doubt it.
Of course it's a business but stop being so cynical. We all know it's a business and we're customers. Come on, Cigs, you don't think I know we are customers? But it's more than that. Why aren't you posting on the Panera board? You go there all the time. It's a good business. They even have you trained to bus your own tables and still give them a tip before you see your food. They have you totally trained, but you still wouldn't call yourself a fan and put a Panera banner on your truck. And I venture to guess you aren't posting on any website about the new assistant manager position opening up or why they took away the 99 cent cookies.
There is an emotional aspect of following a team that isn't there with other businesses. We're fans, not just customers. They're a team. Yes they're employees, but it goes beyond that. There is comradery and a desire to win that goes beyond just earning a paycheck. Try to tell Mike Alstott or John Lynch that they were just employees. I don't think they'd agree with you. Even the owners know they have a responsibility to the fans and the community. Of course the almighty dollar is #1, but they also worry about the way they are viewed in the community and what their role is in the community. There is a social aspect, it's not just money.
So you can save your cynicism, or Cigs, or maybe I'll see you over on the Panera chat board but I doubt it.
I think you misunderstood my post because you're posting about fans. I was posting about the NFL, based on a premise that you actually restated:
"There is an emotional aspect of following a team that isn't there with other businesses."
Yes, there is an emotional aspect. That was my point. That is why fans gladly stepped up and signed two year season ticket commitments. The NFL understands fans as customers.
Let us know when Bowles calls you for your opinion on Banks. :-)
Good partner and all
I expect they will eventually have to address the Banks issues. I suppose if he's just camp fodder they won't have to, but it sounds like this guy could actually have enough talent to make the team. If that's the case he and the coach will have to address it IMO. The media will ask about it. They can't just say "next question".
As for the owners, to guys like George Steinbrenner and Malcolm Glazer there was more to the equation than just making money. Of course they were rich men, but they wanted to be seen as people who did something good with their money. Some owners want to be seen as making a positive impact. Some owners just want to be seen. Rarely does an owner of a major league sports team want to stay unknown. They want a team that reflects well on them. Winning helps polish up that image nicely, but bad characters can tarnish it.