Covering University of Colorado sports, mostly basketball, since 2010

Thursday, May 16, 2013

On Lewis, Webb, and their day in court

I don't know how closely everyone has been following the Alex Lewis and Jordan Webb saga, but it's starting to get weird.

At first glance, it seemed pretty straight forward.  Lewis, a former CU offensive lineman who had recently announced his plans to transfer to Nebraska, and injured Buffs QB Webb got into an altercation on the Hill last Friday, which resulted in one man being sent to the hospital. According to the police report, Lewis, who admits he was 22 drinks in the hole, repeatedly shoved an Air Force cadet, Lee Busey, into a brick wall, and later combined with Webb to both shove him to the ground, and punch him.  As a finisher, it's alleged that Lewis picked up Busey by the throat, and hurled him into a parking kiosk, knocking him unconscious.

Lewis and Webb claim a different story, alleging that Busey tried to throw a few punches, and that all Lewis did was push him away.

Both Lewis and Webb were arrested on second degree assault charges, with Lewis facing an additional two counts of harassment.  They were freed on $10,000 bond after their hearing on Wednesday.

I figured they'd plea down, avoid jail time, and probably serve extended suspension times with their respective programs, if not get the boot altogether.  A despicable turn of events for both Lewis and Webb, but nothing particularly exceptional when compared to the myriad of "Fulmer Cup" violations that occur during college football's offseason.

Then, the lawyers got involved.

In support of their version of the story, Lewis' lawyer, Donald Brenner, said that the pair were accosted by the unconscious cadet because Lewis was wearing Nebraska gear.
Brenner claimed Lewis was assaulted by an unconscious man for wearing red.  From: the BDC
Wait, what?

Three things:
  1. Why would an Air Force cadet care if you're wearing Nebraska gear?  Zoomies aren't a party to our three decades of hate.
  2. Even if that were the case, it does not excuse sending a man to the hospital.
  3. This Husker-centric persecution complex is getting old.  I take offense to the presumption that this incident must have had something to do with CU fans being hooligans.  I know everyone likes to play-up the terrible fan stories, but I'm getting tired of this hearsay bullshit defaming student-fan culture in Boulder.  Throw this one in with the invented tales of piss-bombs, the shoving of grandmothers, and lethal marshmallows. 
Of course, it was later revealed that the Lewis was wearing anything but Husker-wear, implying that the lawyer pulled that excuse out of his ass.  In fact, faced with reality, Brenner backtracked yesterday, admitting that he was "confused" by "the press" and "innuendo" into making the false claim.
"Your questions and innuendo frighten and confuse me."
For the record, Brennen, a graduate of KU's law school, has twice had his license to practice law suspended.

So, to summarize, we've got a drunk accused of beating on a Zoomie, who is then defended by a lawyer with a spotty past, who also happens to get confused by press questions... this should be the trial of the century.

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