On Josh Huff and the rush to judgment | David Murphy
Remember when the former Eagles receiver was facing a mandatory minimum of 3.5 years in jail?
Remember how many people thought Josh Huff was going to jail? In the wake of his November arrest on the Walt Whitman Bridge on charges of possessing an assortment of items that might have earned him a total of $25 in fines had he been caught with them on the other side of the bridge, the local headlines were blaring the news that Huff was facing a mandatory minimum of 3.5 years in the clink. In addition to his gun, which was unregistered in New Jersey, police said Huff was caught with a box of "hollow point" bullets, which are illegal to carry in the Garden State.
Well, turns out, Huff won't be going to jail, provided he successfully completes a pretrial diversion program, per the Tampa Bay Times. In other words, Huff got six months' probation, not 3.5 years in jail.
None of this means that the former Eagles wideout wasn't a knucklehead for ignoring New Jersey's stringent gun laws, or for cavalierly carrying around a container of marijuana (particularly since weed is banned by the NFL; Huff was at the NovaCare Complex earlier that day). It is, however, a reminder that charges often sound a lot more nefarious than the punishment that actually ends up getting handed down.
Per the Times, Huff still faces a DUI charge on suspicion of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana. Again, though, consider that New Jersey is a state where the mere smell of marijuana coming from a vehicle can serve as probable cause that a crime is being committed. Huff's arrest report from that day states that the investigating officer detected a smell of raw — i.e., unsmoked — marijuana coming from Huff's vehicle as he returned from Philadelphia to his in-season home in New Jersey. Maybe he really was under the influence, but being charged with it is a lot different from having that charge stick.
The societal optics of the situation were only a part of why the Eagles ended up cutting Huff after first standing by him. Even before the arrest, they had little incentive to keep him around after 2 1/2 uninspiring seasons, and one could certainly interpret the actions that led to the arrest as being indicative of a substandard commitment to or focus on football. There's a reason weed is not classified as a performance enhancing drug.
At the same time, a person can be a knucklehead without being a criminal, and there are a lot of shades on that spectrum. Huff ended up landing with the Bucs, where he played in three games at the end of the season. Six months' probation is a lot different from 3.5 years in jail. Just something to file away the next time you hear someone was arrested for an offense that carries a mandatory minimum.