One week after the horribly disturbing video of Joe Mixon decking Amelia Molitor became public, the Oklahoma running back offered a public apology.
WATCH: Here's Joe Mixon's opening statement. #Sooners https://t.co/1B5XZtPoZt
— 𝕺𝖐𝖑𝖆𝖍𝖔𝖒𝖆 𝖛𝖘. 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝖂𝖔𝖗𝖑𝖉 (@soonergridiron) December 23, 2016
Mixon said, “I’m here to apologize to Ms. Molitor. …I ask for your forgiveness. I let a lot of people down.” He also said it’s never okay to retaliate and hit a woman, no matter what she has done.
Late though it may be, Mixon’s apology showed he is emotional about the issue, or at least that he regrets what he did. He also said he’d be willing to speak to Domestic Violence advocacy groups and children so they can learn from his mistake.
Joe Mixon said he's "definitely" willing to speak to Domestic Violence advocacy groups as well as to kids to learn from his mistakes.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) December 23, 2016
The video that came out last week, which is extremely violent and shows just how vicious Mixon’s punch was (watch here), was released two years after the fact and took a court order to become public.
The entire ordeal has become a fiasco for Oklahoma, Mixon and head coach Bob Stoops, whose comments on the matter are, quite frankly, just as disturbing. He essentially said that, if Mixon had hit Molitor in 2016, he’d be booted off the team.
Stoops: 2 1/2 years later, dismissal is the only thing that's possible. … There' no recovering from these incidents anymore.
— John Shinn (@john_shinn) December 21, 2016
Yet Mixon remains on Oklahoma’s team, with Stoops saying he might make a decision on Mixon’s future…after the team takes on Auburn in the Sugar Bowl.
So, on the one hand, we applaud Mixon for finally facing the media to address his horrible mistake and apologize publicly. On the other hand, it’s a crying shame this didn’t happen a couple years ago, and that the University of Oklahoma didn’t address it appropriately then, or now.