BY BERNIE MIXON and JANICE MORSE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
GLENDALE -- A Princeton Vikings football player who pleaded guilty to two felony drug charges may be a criminal in the eyes of the law.
But to Princeton school officials, he is a role model -- a student trying to turn his troubled life around.
Educators paint a picture of Wayne A. Brandon Jarrett as a "gentle giant," a popular 18-year-old student-athlete elected captain of the football team by his teammates.
In reaction to a Cincinnati Enquirer story Wednesday, the district received support and criticism for allowing Mr. Jarrett to remain on the football team, even though he pleaded guilty to possessing crack cocaine and selling it to an undercover Hamilton police officer for $20.
Despite the criticism, school officials are steadfastly standing by Mr. Jarrett, who will be sentenced Oct. 15.
"His classmates and teammates value what he is doing with his life," Superintendent Dennis Peterson said. "He is doing well educationally. He is viewed as a leader, and other students look up to him."
Mr. Jarrett pleaded guilty last month in Butler County Common Pleas Court to the drug offenses, which occurred Jan. 2.
In June, the case was transferred to adult court. Mr. Jarrett has been free on 10 percent of a $5,000 bond since then. He was indicted in August for possession of crack cocaine and trafficking in cocaine. Because Mr. Jarrett, then 17, committed the crimes before he was enrolled in the Princeton system, "we certainly didn't have any ability to exclude him from our school or activities at our school," said Mr. Peterson.
Mr. Jarrett attended Hamilton schools before transferring to Princeton last year, said his mother, Carmen Dillingham. After Christmas break, the 6-foot, 295-pounder was kicked off Hamilton's football team. But coach Ed Mignery has not specified why.
He enrolled in the Princeton district on Jan. 6.
"We all make mistakes, but he turned his life around," Ms. Dillingham said Wednesday.
"Stuff like this is encouraging," Mr. Jarrett said. "I'm not out there anymore. I'm trying to do what is right. This has pushed me to be more successful."
There is no district or Ohio High School Athletic Association rule that would bar Mr. Jarrett from the team.
Mr. Peterson said the student is eligible to play in the Vikings' football game Friday night against Lakota West.
Leigh Crayden, a former teacher at Princeton, called Mr. Jarrett a "gentle giant, quiet and endearing."
As part of an English class assignment, Mr. Jarrett wrote a nine-page autobiography.
"He more than readily admits what he's done and that he made mistakes," Mrs. Crayden said.
Michael D. Clark contributed to this report.
