Leron Black - Encouraging Story

#1      

molinefan

molinefan
molinefan
I know this article was posted on the home page but I thought it would be good to start a thread about the inspiring things Leron has done since he messed up that night in February. We hear bad news at times and it can be discouraging. This was a very encouraging read! Way to go Leron! Looking forward to seeing you on the court again as well! (I don't know if I accomplished getting the link to the article in here right. If not maybe someone else can. Thanks!)

http://www.qconline.com/sports/coll...cle_adc86a3a-bb71-5ccb-bae7-293a7f9fd797.html
 
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#2      

CAHALL15

C
Central Illinois
CAHALL15
He made a mistake, but I think his true character shines through. I'm looking forward to seeing him on the floor this year.
 
#3      

HoopsCoach

H
HoopsCoach
I have a kid who reminds me of Leron when he plays (except not nearly as talented). What I mean is if I was on the other team or a fan of the other team, I would absolutely think he was a "thug" or a bad dude. But knowing him, he is one of the nicest kids I coach, he just has a little nasty in him on the basketball floor that I wish more of my kids had honestly. Leron messed up, he knows he did. But he is still a young man (I used to carry a knife myself without thought living in an area that wasn't the greatest) who made a bad decision and let's let him learn from it, instead of crucifying him for it. He is still one of my favorites, really pulling for him!
 
#4      

breadman

B
Herndon, VA
breadman
Very inspirational! Keep it up! Can't wait to see you on the court!
 
#6      

IlliniFoLife

I
IlliniFoLife
I definitely feel that Leron deserves another shot from everyone including us the fans. I was in a similar boat to Leron. It wasn't the same situation, but I was arrested for a serious issue over 4 years ago at age 24 and it was my first offense and first time I was ever in trouble w/the law. I knew what I did was bad and I paid the consequences of my actions that one bad night(paid fines, plead guilty to what I was charged with but was given court supervision so I don't have a misdemeanor or felony on my record). It was a humbling experience because I know I'm a good kid and try to be a productive member of society but went the wrong way one night and fortunately, did not seriously injure myself or others from my foolish mistake.

But, at the same time, had I not gone through what I went through, I wouldn't have learned from my mistake as I very well could have made it at some point in the future. It taught me steps and actions to take to try to prevent the same thing from happening in the future. Similarly, I think Leron is a good kid who made a dumb mistake that can be largely be due to him being young and not understanding what the consequences of his actions were going to be. As long as he learns from it and continues to be a productive member of society, then he deserves to be given the benefit of the doubt and try to atone for his mistake. Leave the kid alone and let's see if he can improve himself on the court as that is all I'm worried about.
 
#7      

IlliniBrave75

IlliniBrave75
IlliniBrave75
Kedric Prince‏@KedPrince4 13h13 hours ago
Another piece to the LeRon Black article #Illini fans:pic.twitter.com/lkPjZn3W5C

CsR-L7QXYAAdpMF.jpg
 
#8      

zpfled

Z
Logan Square, Chicago
zpfled
I've always liked Leron, and this is great to read! Thanks for posting:)
 
#9      

riffraff

riffraff
Peoria
riffraff
Leron knows both grace and mercy and reflects that in his character. Too bad most of us learn better from our mistakes and that his mistake had to come with such a high price.
 
#10      

IlliniFoLife

I
IlliniFoLife
riffraff said:
Leron knows both grace and mercy and reflects that in his character. Too bad most of us learn better from our mistakes and that his mistake had to come with such a high price.
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I don't think his mistake came at a high price. The only high price was that since he is an athlete, he was scrutinized more for it but the repercussions were not severe at all. 25 hours of community service is not much and a 6 game suspension including 2 exhibition games is a small price to pay. He was injured all of last year anyways, so he didn't lose out on a medical redshirt. If anything, he comes out of it relatively unscathed from a legal perspective. The only part of this that hurts is after he graduates, he will have to discuss this incident in interviews when applying for work although he may end up playing overseas for a while after graduating from school.
 
#12      

illiniknight

I
illiniknight
It is good to hear that he is remorseful and that he made the best out of a bad situation. Good to see he took his punishment and used it as a change to positively influence some kids.
 
#13      

Serious Late

Serious Late
Peoria via Denver via Ann Arbor via Albuquerque vi
Serious Late
WesterveltVictoryCigar said:
I don't think many employers ask about misdemeanor offenses.
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Yeah, but all it will take is a basic Google search to find this information out. How many employers are interviewing a former high major D-1 player without looking up their history? I am guessing most would, even just out of curiosity rather than investigating.
 
#14      

RichBradIllini

RichBradIllini
Peoria
RichBradIllini
Serious Late said:
Yeah, but all it will take is a basic Google search to find this information out. How many employers are interviewing a former high major D-1 player without looking up their history? I am guessing most would, even just out of curiosity rather than investigating.
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Any employer worth their salt would look at what he did after his conviction as a basis for employment. I would bet if Leron continues on his current path the turnaround would negate the incident.
 
#16      

CAHALL15

C
Central Illinois
CAHALL15
riffraff said:
Leron knows both grace and mercy and reflects that in his character. Too bad most of us learn better from our mistakes and that his mistake had to come with such a high price.
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To be honest, this really isn't a high price. He missed jail time, he continues to go to a great institution on a full scholarship, the few games he is missing are all teams we should beat without him anyway, and two of those games don't even count towards our record.
 
#18      

Serious Late

Serious Late
Peoria via Denver via Ann Arbor via Albuquerque vi
Serious Late
RichBradIllini said:
Any employer worth their salt would look at what he did after his conviction as a basis for employment. I would bet if Leron continues on his current path the turnaround would negate the incident.
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Not suggesting it will have a negative impact on his job prospects. The question was whether an employer would even ask (know) about Leron's legal issues since they were for a misdemeanor. I find it hard to believe many potential employers wouldn't.
 
#19      

zpfled

Z
Logan Square, Chicago
zpfled
Serious Late said:
Not suggesting it will have a negative impact on his job prospects. The question was whether an employer would even ask (know) about Leron's legal issues since they were for a misdemeanor. I find it hard to believe many potential employers wouldn't.
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That last 3 jobs I've had, I haven't been asked or had to disclose anything about my criminal past*. No background check either.

I image it depends on the type of employer, but a smaller company where hires are made mostly on referrals and there isn't a big HR department probably wouldn't find out about a misdemeanor, I'd guess.

I'm sure any employer will google a prospective employee at the very least, at which point it just depends on what the first page of google results say about Leron, I suppose.

* I don't have a criminal past, I'm just saying no one asked.