I will not contend to know Greg Oden very well at all. Our conversations over time have been casual and always basketball related. I found him to be polite and respectful at all times. We never discussed his personal life and quite frankly it is none of my business.
When he was arrested and accused of domestic violence recently, I was both shocked and saddened. It seemed hard to imagine how someone who impressed me so much over the years as indeed being one of the “good guys” could find himself in this situation. It was an eye opener to me as I watched it all unfold recently on television.
I want to make it crystal clear that I find domestic violence to be unconscionable and those who commit such heinous crimes should be prosecuted fully without exception.
To his credit, Oden conceded to what occurred and made it clear he understands what now must occur in the legal system as a result. He apparently has made it clear what he did, accepted his circumstances, and blames nobody other than the man he sees in the mirror each day.
Upon his release, Oden was fitted with a GPS monitoring device that tracks his every move when he leaves his residence. That system is no doubt helpful in potentially protecting a victim from further attacks in these types of cases, but I wondered if it was commensurate for an alleged first-time offender? Before you get concerned about my question, I will once again proclaim my disgust with those who strike a woman. My question is simply one regarding the regularity of such devices and who is ordered to wear them.
For the system to work, a victim of domestic violence must wear one as well to allow the system to notify when a perpetrator is approaching them, thereby notifying authorities of the violation. From what I have learned, the young lady in this case who originally refused to testify against him, also rebuffed the initial efforts of those involved with the case to wear the device.
While every victim is entitled to a safe environment, was Oden ordered to wear this device as a result of a higher personal profile or because he is a threat to society?
What I do know is he has no prior offenses and as a result, has not been in this situation before. Tracking to insure the victim’s safety is a great idea, provided the defendant is a real threat. Certainly conventional wisdom lends to reason that if a man strikes a woman once, he certainly can do it again. No dispute there.
As a society we must do everything possible to make sure this does not happen, but Oden was detained for a long period of time for someone with no priors and the obvious ability to post bail quickly.
While he should be subject to any and all processing that accompanies these matters, the question remains, did he get treated differently as a high profile African-American in this situation? You could certainly argue that he did, considering the tracking device is not an automatic condition of release, but rather a discretionary call by those involved in determining such.
Certainly the victim’s safety is paramount here, but for what it is worth, is he really a threat to break the terms of a normal release that does not include a tracking device that monitors his every movement?
For those of you who proclaim Oden has money and will have the best legal representation available and as a result will not see any jail time over the apparent terrible lack of judgement on his part, you probably are correct.
I just hope he was treated like any other first-time defendant when arrested and processed, and I am not certain he was. While that pales in comparison to what the victim has endured, it is troubling and is deserving of a review.
Chances are that will not happen and that in itself is also a crime.
Danny Bridges, who strongly encourages any man who has hit a woman to seek professional help, can be reached at (317) 578-1780 or at Bridgeshd@aol.com.
