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Update on Marlon Lucky - Speculative Media Version

By Jon Johnston

Let me say first that I really despite posting stories from the Omaha World Herald. Their web site is outdated, they constantly produce pop-up advertising and their registration system is byzantine at best. Having said all that, here's an update on Marlon Lucky from Husker Extra/Lincoln Journal Star.

Lucky has been upgraded to fair, and his family has released the following statement:

"We would like to make it clear that Marlon's medical emergency did not come about as a result of the use of alcohol or any illicit drugs," the statement said. "We are very appreciative of the thoughts and prayers for Marlon during this time."

Thus endeth the speculation that started when WOW TV announced that the hospitalization was due to an overdose. Using the word 'overdose' brings out the best in everyone, especially when we're speculating and we're all good at that.

And a statement from Bill Callahan:

"I have spent time with both Marlon and his family at the hospital over the past couple days. Marlon knows that he has the full support of our football team, coaches and entire athletic department. We want to thank everyone for respecting the privacy of Marlon and his family."

Well, not everyone. Earlier in the day, the Omaha World Herald had released an 'update' that was nothing more than a re-hash of already released information. It contained this jewel, pushing further speculation that Lucky had reasons for an overdose:

Lucky's college career, to date, has not matched the enormous expectations that followed him to Lincoln. He rushed for 129 yards as a true freshman and did not score a touchdown.
Considering that Lucky will be a junior come next fall, there's still plenty of time for him to meet someone's enormous expectations, unless they expected him to win the Heisman three or four years in a row. In that case, they'd be a disappointed idiot.

The above quote is really the setup for later in the article, when we get this:

Ratcliff (Lucky's high school coach) said he had sensed some frustration from Lucky about his role in the Nebraska offense.

"He wanted to do more, but I don't think that played into this at all," Ratcliff said.

When asked to elaborate, again, the coach retreated.

"I'm not at liberty to say anything," he said.

Oooooooooo, where there's smoke, there's fire, right? And where there's nothing, well, just add a little smoke and let people drawn their own conclusions. In other words, more sensationalism.

Earlier in the day, Husker Extra had also posted an update to the Lucky situation, but someone came in and acted like a complete ass in the comments section, so it's been removed. I wondered about this for a bit - and then thought - "Good for Husker Extra". This isn't about football, this is about a young kid's life. If we're so in love with everything Husker, shouldn't there be a little more respect shown for him than what's out there already?

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