Lawrence Phillips Update (Spoiler Alert: Not Good)

[knapplc]

Osborne let him play and start to help him increase his draft stock so he could be rid of him.

Did Osborne, a doctor of child psychology, really think that Phillips going to the NFL where there is millions of dollars in the hands of immature young people was the best option for someone like LP? Not buying it.

Is there a source for the bold? I've heard Osborne say time and again that he was trying to give Lawrence structure, that he was afraid if Lawrence was out of football that he would spiral downward. Turns out, Lawrence was always going to spiral downward, Tom Osborne notwithstanding. I have never heard anyone insinuate that Osborne reinstated Lawrence to get him off Osborne's hands.

Lawrence was always going to go to the NFL, whether Osborne upheld the suspension or not.

 

[NUance]

Good listen.

Damon Benning

Excellent segment by Benning. +1. I didn't realize that TO put it to a team vote whether they should give LP a second chance. Tom put pros and cons on the white board before the vote, to let guys know that it would be controversial to keep him.

Funny, but when people criticize TO for keeping Lawrence on the team they never mention that TO put it to a team vote as to whether they should keep him. They make it sound like it was a selfish decision on TO's part. I think TO was just trying to give the guy a second chance and send him on to the NFL in good stead.

Putting it to a team vote is fine. Whatever. But Phillips should have never played another down that year. Let alone start the Fiesta Bowl. Osborne let him play and start to help him increase his draft stock so he could be rid of him.

Did Osborne, a doctor of child psychology, really think that Phillips going to the NFL where there is millions of dollars in the hands of immature young people was the best option for someone like LP? Not buying it.

Oh come on Mr. ex post guy, we all know hindsight is 20-20. How could anyone look at Lawrence Phillips ex ante and know with certainty that he would commit a murder? Did he get in any trouble during the three month period in 1995 when he was suspended?

Osborne felt that that it would have been worse for Phillips to cut him loose back in Sept. 1995. TO felt that the best way to help Phillips at the time was to keep him on the team under a watchful eye. I agreed with that decision at the time. And I still agree with it. You can't look at what has transpired since then and say TO made a wrong decision based on his knowledge of the situation at the time.

 

[StPaulHusker]

Osborne let him play and start to help him increase his draft stock so he could be rid of him.

Did Osborne, a doctor of child psychology, really think that Phillips going to the NFL where there is millions of dollars in the hands of immature young people was the best option for someone like LP? Not buying it.

Is there a source for the bold? I've heard Osborne say time and again that he was trying to give Lawrence structure, that he was afraid if Lawrence was out of football that he would spiral downward. Turns out, Lawrence was always going to spiral downward, Tom Osborne notwithstanding. I have never heard anyone insinuate that Osborne reinstated Lawrence to get him off Osborne's hands.

Lawrence was always going to go to the NFL, whether Osborne upheld the suspension or not.

I'm not talking about upholding the suspension. I am talking about letting him play and start. Osborne could have let the vote stand and bring LP back to the team and had him work through things and start over his Sr. year. Instead, he let him play and start the Fiesta Bowl even though Green was having a great Freshman year.

 

[StPaulHusker]

Good listen.

Damon Benning

Excellent segment by Benning. +1. I didn't realize that TO put it to a team vote whether they should give LP a second chance. Tom put pros and cons on the white board before the vote, to let guys know that it would be controversial to keep him.

Funny, but when people criticize TO for keeping Lawrence on the team they never mention that TO put it to a team vote as to whether they should keep him. They make it sound like it was a selfish decision on TO's part. I think TO was just trying to give the guy a second chance and send him on to the NFL in good stead.

Putting it to a team vote is fine. Whatever. But Phillips should have never played another down that year. Let alone start the Fiesta Bowl. Osborne let him play and start to help him increase his draft stock so he could be rid of him.

Did Osborne, a doctor of child psychology, really think that Phillips going to the NFL where there is millions of dollars in the hands of immature young people was the best option for someone like LP? Not buying it.

Oh come on Mr. ex post guy, we all know hindsight is 20-20. How could anyone look at Lawrence Phillips ex ante and know with certainty that he would commit a murder? Did he get in any trouble during the three month period in 1995 when he was suspended?

Osborne felt that that it would have been worse for Phillips to cut him loose back in Sept. 1995. TO felt that the best way to help Phillips at the time was to keep him on the team under a watchful eye. I agreed with that decision at the time. And I still agree with it. You can't look at what has transpired since then and say TO made a wrong decision based on his knowledge of the situation at the time.

Again. Fine with ending the suspension. Doesn't mean he deserved to be back on the field. He could have kept him on the team in the "structured environment."

 

[HuskerMack]

I wont make any excuses for LP but as a foster parent and an adoptive parent of a children from a broken home with abuse I can understand what is going on with him. We have under gone therapy for 7 years and we are talking about a child that came to us at 15months and 6 months old which had issues of abuse as it is ingrained into the childs brain and it is very hard for them to make the right choices even though they know it is wrong to do. Again what he did was wrong and there are punishments for it but what you don't understand with him and alot of these people that make the wrong choice is that is the way their brain tells them to act even if they know it is wrong. If you dont get therapy as a child it is almost imposible to change as an adult because your brain is set in your ways. I mean how would you like it if your mother sat there and watched a man abuse you day after day growing up and not doing anything to stop it your brain would tell you it is ok for violence. The man held LP on the ground with his foot and would piss on him how would that make you feel day in an day out as a child.

 

[knapplc]

Osborne let him play and start to help him increase his draft stock so he could be rid of him.

Did Osborne, a doctor of child psychology, really think that Phillips going to the NFL where there is millions of dollars in the hands of immature young people was the best option for someone like LP? Not buying it.

Is there a source for the bold? I've heard Osborne say time and again that he was trying to give Lawrence structure, that he was afraid if Lawrence was out of football that he would spiral downward. Turns out, Lawrence was always going to spiral downward, Tom Osborne notwithstanding. I have never heard anyone insinuate that Osborne reinstated Lawrence to get him off Osborne's hands.

Lawrence was always going to go to the NFL, whether Osborne upheld the suspension or not.

I'm not talking about upholding the suspension. I am talking about letting him play and start. Osborne could have let the vote stand and bring LP back to the team and had him work through things and start over his Sr. year. Instead, he let him play and start the Fiesta Bowl even though Green was having a great Freshman year.

I agree he didn't need to start, and could have been in a structured environment without playing. I'm just curious where the draft stock stuff came from. If that was you thinking out loud, I understand and we all do that, but I thought maybe there was something out there I didn't know about.

 

[StPaulHusker]

Osborne let him play and start to help him increase his draft stock so he could be rid of him.

Did Osborne, a doctor of child psychology, really think that Phillips going to the NFL where there is millions of dollars in the hands of immature young people was the best option for someone like LP? Not buying it.

Is there a source for the bold? I've heard Osborne say time and again that he was trying to give Lawrence structure, that he was afraid if Lawrence was out of football that he would spiral downward. Turns out, Lawrence was always going to spiral downward, Tom Osborne notwithstanding. I have never heard anyone insinuate that Osborne reinstated Lawrence to get him off Osborne's hands.

Lawrence was always going to go to the NFL, whether Osborne upheld the suspension or not.

I'm not talking about upholding the suspension. I am talking about letting him play and start. Osborne could have let the vote stand and bring LP back to the team and had him work through things and start over his Sr. year. Instead, he let him play and start the Fiesta Bowl even though Green was having a great Freshman year.

I agree he didn't need to start, and could have been in a structured environment without playing. I'm just curious where the draft stock stuff came from. If that was you thinking out loud, I understand and we all do that, but I thought maybe there was something out there I didn't know about.

It's part my own opinion and part things that I read over the years. Osborne claims that he did Phillips "financial damage" by suspending him for 6 games because it kept him out of the top 5 of the draft. Phillips said he was going to go pro if he was guaranteed to be picked anywhere in the 1st round. I believe he doesn't get that guarantee if Osborne keeps him off of the field for the rest of the year. So he lets him play and then start and he does pretty amazing and his draft stock rises and with the blessing of Osborne, he goes pro.

 

[RunMickeyRun02]

Good listen.

Damon Benning

Excellent segment by Benning. +1. I didn't realize that TO put it to a team vote whether they should give LP a second chance. Tom put pros and cons on the white board before the vote, to let guys know that it would be controversial to keep him.

Funny, but when people criticize TO for keeping Lawrence on the team they never mention that TO put it to a team vote as to whether they should keep him. They make it sound like it was a selfish decision on TO's part. I think TO was just trying to give the guy a second chance and send him on to the NFL in good stead.

Yeah, I found that extremely interesting. Even in his book "On Solid Ground" I don't recall him mentioning he put it to a vote.

 

[NUance]

Osborne let him play and start to help him increase his draft stock so he could be rid of him.

Did Osborne, a doctor of child psychology, really think that Phillips going to the NFL where there is millions of dollars in the hands of immature young people was the best option for someone like LP? Not buying it.

Is there a source for the bold? I've heard Osborne say time and again that he was trying to give Lawrence structure, that he was afraid if Lawrence was out of football that he would spiral downward. Turns out, Lawrence was always going to spiral downward, Tom Osborne notwithstanding. I have never heard anyone insinuate that Osborne reinstated Lawrence to get him off Osborne's hands.

Lawrence was always going to go to the NFL, whether Osborne upheld the suspension or not.

I'm not talking about upholding the suspension. I am talking about letting him play and start. Osborne could have let the vote stand and bring LP back to the team and had him work through things and start over his Sr. year. Instead, he let him play and start the Fiesta Bowl even though Green was having a great Freshman year.

I agree he didn't need to start, and could have been in a structured environment without playing. I'm just curious where the draft stock stuff came from. If that was you thinking out loud, I understand and we all do that, but I thought maybe there was something out there I didn't know about.

Was that your opinion back in Oct. 1995? How about January 1996 after LP had gone through three months of suspension without a slip up?

At the time I thought Osborne did the right thing.

 

[StPaulHusker]

Osborne let him play and start to help him increase his draft stock so he could be rid of him.

Did Osborne, a doctor of child psychology, really think that Phillips going to the NFL where there is millions of dollars in the hands of immature young people was the best option for someone like LP? Not buying it.

Is there a source for the bold? I've heard Osborne say time and again that he was trying to give Lawrence structure, that he was afraid if Lawrence was out of football that he would spiral downward. Turns out, Lawrence was always going to spiral downward, Tom Osborne notwithstanding. I have never heard anyone insinuate that Osborne reinstated Lawrence to get him off Osborne's hands.

Lawrence was always going to go to the NFL, whether Osborne upheld the suspension or not.

I'm not talking about upholding the suspension. I am talking about letting him play and start. Osborne could have let the vote stand and bring LP back to the team and had him work through things and start over his Sr. year. Instead, he let him play and start the Fiesta Bowl even though Green was having a great Freshman year.

I agree he didn't need to start, and could have been in a structured environment without playing. I'm just curious where the draft stock stuff came from. If that was you thinking out loud, I understand and we all do that, but I thought maybe there was something out there I didn't know about.

Was that your opinion back in Oct. 1995? How about January 1996 after LP had gone through three months of suspension without a slip up?

At the time I thought Osborne did the right thing.

I was a teenager back in 95-96 so I assume I wasn't mature enough to hold quite as strong of opinion as I do now. Plus there wasn't a ton of information to read about like there is today. Football programs weren't under the scrutiny as they are today.

But if I remember right, I disliked Phillips after the incident with his girlfriend. I mean, he beat a woman. It's disgusting. And thought the suspension was correct. I didn't like that he was brought back because it made the program look bad. And I was happy we beat Florida in the Fiesta Bowl.

 

[knapplc]

In 1995 my opinion was that he shouldn't have been on the team, period. My friend lived in that apartment complex and I knew pretty well what had happened the night LP beat up McEwen.

 

[FrazierMade]

Here's a pretty accurate, from what I remember, timeline of Lawrence's legal sagas:

http://saturdaysinthefall.com/posts/2167247/former-nebraska-standout-lawrence-phillips-suspected-of-killing-prison-cellmate.html

I mean, what a waste...

 

[TGHusker]

Reminds me of THE RUN by Frasier later in the game.

 

[VA Husker2]

Bo Pelini would have loved Lawrence Phillips. He knows how to execute.

That was brutal

On which level? Pelini or Phillips?

 

[mwj98]

This entire story from start to finish is just pitiful. Im not gonna second guess osborne at all. Hindsight is 20/20. Full of talent, just wasted. Smh. Its just sad.

Now, i feel the end is near for phillips. Unfortunately there is more to this story. I strongly believe his days in prison are numbered.