Oregon RB James hopes offseason turmoil will make him stronger

EUGENE, Ore. -- LaMichael James does not mince words when describing the period in February and early March when both he and the Oregon football team were in

Stewart Mandel | Apr 14, 2010

Oregon RB James hopes offseason turmoil will make him stronger /

EUGENE, Ore. -- LaMichael James does not mince words when describing the period in February and early March when both he and the Oregon football team were in the news almost daily for entirely unwanted reasons.

"It really sucks," said the all-freshman running back. "Sometimes I even blame myself [for other players' arrests] because if I could have been here, I could have talked to my teammates. My teammates really look up to me. They expect me NOT to get in trouble. I try to do everything right. When I got in trouble, it really went downhill."

James couldn't be with his team for much of February and March because a judge wouldn't allow it. Following his Feb. 17 arrest on domestic violence charges stemming from a dispute with his ex-girlfriend, James spent nearly two days in jail, then was not allowed within two miles of the alleged victim's campus residence after being released. In the meantime, James, whose initial charges included the word "strangulation," became known around the country as someone who "beat up his girlfriend."

James eventually pleaded guilty to one count of physical harassment on March 12, and the official details of the incident painted a far milder picture. But by then it was too late.

"I'm sure a lot of people around the country that don't know me probably have a negative image of me," he said. "Even seeing myself on TV, I would think I did it too. The way they made it out to be, it was like wow, guilty until proven innocent. ... Anyone who knows me knows that's not the person I am."

James, a reported 3.0 student who says he aspires to become an Academic All-America, refers to his arrest and the subsequent coverage as "a really tough time -- but I'm still standing.

"Honestly, I don't think [the incident] was avoidable, and the media really took it and ran with it. But I was forced not to say anything. It's in the past. I'm never going to live that day again in my life, but it still has an effect on me. I think that day is going to make me stronger."

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Published Apr 14, 2010

STEWART MANDEL

Senior Writer, Sports Illustrated Stewart Mandel first caught the college football bug as a sophomore at Northwestern University in 1995. "The thrill of that '95 Rose Bowl season energized the entire campus, and I quickly became aware of how the national media covered that story," he says. "I knew right then that I wanted to be one of those people, covering those types of stories." Mandel joined SI.com (formerly CNNSI.com) in 1999. A senior writer for the website, his coverage areas include the national college football beat and college basketball. He also contributes features to Sports Illustrated. "College football is my favorite sport to cover," says Mandel. "The stakes are so high week in and week out, and the level of emotion it elicits from both the fans and the participants is unrivaled." Mandel's most popular features on SI.com include his College Football Mailbag and College Football Overtime. He has covered 14 BCS national championship games and eight Final Fours. Mandel's first book, Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls: Tackling the Chaos and Controversy That Reign Over College Football, was published in 2007. In 2008 he took first place (enterprise category) and second place (game story) in the Football Writers Association of America's annual writing contest. He also placed first in the 2005 contest (columns). Mandel says covering George Mason's run to the Final Four was the most enjoyable story of his SI tenure. "It was thrilling to be courtside for the historic Elite Eight upset of UConn," Mandel says. "Being inside the locker room and around the team during that time allowed me to get to know the coaches and players behind that captivating story." Before SI.com Mandel worked at ESPN the Magazine, ABC Sports Online and The Cincinnati Enquirer. He graduated from Northwestern University in 1998 with a B.S. in journalism. A Cincinnati native, Mandel and his wife, Emily, live in Santa Clara, Calif.