Usually, when I write about former Ohio State football players, it's about good news. Usually, its about about a guy signing a massive deal in the NFL, or a guy having a huge game. Unfortunately, the only news that has been coming out about former Buckeyes in recent days has been bad.
Former linebacker Darron Lee was indicted on charges of him allegedly murdering his girlfriend. That's an extremely serious situation that could see him possibly lose his life if the prosecutors seek the death penalty and he is convicted. Another former Buckeye has been in legal trouble, also.
Jonathon Cooper has been dealing with a domestic dispute with his girlfriend. He was arrested on domestic violence charges last week when police were called. Now, it looks like the charges have gotten more serious, as Cooper was arrested once again, just eight days later.
Former Ohio State player Jonathon Cooper arrested for second time in eight games
According to police, Cooper was arrested for violating an order not to visit his girlfriend. Because of that, he was arrested again. Cooper is now facing new charges, including harassment charges. Those stem from allegedly making repeated phone charges and visiting her.
One of the charges Cooper faces is second-degree assault by strangulation, which is very serious. He then allegedly violated a protection order that was put in place because of those charges by sending her 20 messages and calling her twice. Copper allegedly visited her apartment before she called authorities. Cooper claimed he had not been served a protection order at any time.
Now, the NFL will continue to monitor the situation. Even if Cooper is not convicted of any of these charges, he could be found to have violated the Personal Conduct Policy. That would mean he could face discipline from the NFL, regardless of what happens in court.
Fomer Ohio State DE Jonathon Cooper needs to stay out of trouble
Cooper needs to abide by the protection order and just lay low. With it being the offseason, Cooper needs to just relax and let the court case play out. He has turned himself into one of the best defensive players that the Broncos have after being a seventh-round pick.
Losing him for any stretch of time would be detrimental to Denver. More importantly, Cooper needs to get some help for the anger issues that he seems to have. This is obviously a very touchy situation, as his girlfriend was also arrested during the initial incident, as well.
The best thing that Cooper can do is to lie low and stay out of trouble. He should just focus on offseason training and football. That will help him stay out of trouble and will allow him to just get through this. It's unfortunate that this situation has arisen in the first place.
If Cooper ends up missing some time with the Broncos, it will certainly hurt their pass rush. However, football is the last thing that should be thought of right now. Getting Cooper some help should be the priority.
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