Footage of Oklahoma RB Joe Mixon punching woman released
Lawyers for running back Joe Mixon have released the video that shows him punching a female student in the face in 2014.
The Sooners star player punched Amelia Molitor and fractured four bones in her face while at a sandwich shop near the Oklahoma campus. Mixon was charged with a misdemeanor at the time of the altercation, and the university suspended him for the whole 2014 season.
The video was released because the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters sued for access to it. This prompted the Oklahoma Supreme Court to rule this month that the video should be released. The city had until December 26 to release the video or file an appeal.
Mixon’s lawyers said that the football player wanted the video to be released before the deadline passed.
“Mr. Mixon asked us to once again say he is sorry for the way he acted that night,” according to a statement by his attorneys. “He has publicly apologized to Ms. Molitor, her friends, his family, teammates, and the University. He hopes that his voluntary release of these recordings will help put this matter to rest.”
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Once the video was released, the university also had a statement to make.
“University officials were made aware of the content of the video prior to taking action with respect to Joe Mixon [in 2014],” the school said. “Based on that information, the university immediately suspended and removed Mr. Mixon from the football team for one year, during which high standards of conduct were expected and maintained. It was made clear to Mr. Mixon at the time of his suspension that violence against women will not go unpunished at the university. Coach [Bob] Stoops has been proactive in presenting training for his team aimed at preventing such behavior in the future. Sensitivity training in the area of violence has been intensified and best practices will continue to be implemented. Mr. Mixon has apologized for his actions, and the university hopes that it is an indication that he has learned from his mistakes. We are an educational institution, where we hope young people will learn from their mistakes and chart a better future course.”
Mixon has made a formal apology to his victim but says that racial slurs were hurled at him, which is what started the altercation.
“I was not drinking,” Mixon stated. “I have never had a drink in my life. At the end of the night, a group of apparently drunk people started harassing us. Some of my teammates were wise enough to leave. I did not, and I am sorry.”
Then last week, lawyers for Molitor said in a statement that the idea that she “spit on, punched and hurled racial slurs at a cornered man” are false. At first, she didn’t want the video released as she claimed it did not show the whole story. She later gave the okay for its release.
She now has a civil lawsuit pending against Mixon, and, criminally, he pleaded guilty to the charge without making an admission of guilt. He got a one-year deferred sentence and was ordered to do 100 hours of community service as well as to undergo counseling.
