Ball Is Life... Get You A Coach Who Offers Law Enforcement To Shoot Jumpers In Their Driveway During An Arrest
WJAR — The North Smithfield Police Department on Thursday released bodycam video of an officer questioning Bryant University basketball coach Jared Grasso about an alleged hit-and-run crash earlier this month.
In the newly released video, the officer is shown going to Grasso’s residence to speak to him about the crash that took place on Route 146 on the morning of Oct. 1. The officer went to Grasso's home the next day.
In the video, the officer tells Grasso that he is there to inquire about a vehicle in Grasso’s driveway that was involved in an accident.
Let's catch everyone up to speed.
On September 29th, it was reported Grasso was taking a leave of absence. No details were really reported other than he was stepping away.
What was a puzzling situation then turned into a not great situation in Smithfield, RI for Bryant’s Jared Grasso when it was reported he was in an hit and run situation.
GO Prov Local - Bryant men’s basketball coach Jared Grasso was charged by North Smithfield Police, GoLocal has learned. He is presently on a "leave of absence" from the program.
According to documents secured by GoLocal, North Smithfield Police Department charged Grasso with “Failure to Stop for Accident Resulting in Damage to Vehicle."
The incident took place on Sunday, October 1 — two days after Grasso went on leave.
Grasso is being charged under Rhode Island General Law § 31-26-2 -- Duty to stop in accidents resulting in damage to vehicle.
The charge is a misdemeanor.
In the world of sports, especially college sports, the “scoop guys” started tweeting in code hinting the situation was bad or they had news, potentially even worse than just the hit and run situation.
I get why they do it , they are in the business of breaking news or trying to etc. but if we’ve learned anything in news and media we should let stories play out before trying to bury a guy. I for one, rather wait before burying a guy.
Anyway , now it comes out he had a hit and run AFTER the leave of absence. It still remains unclear why he took the leave of absence, but this situation with the accident doesn’t bode well. Also the video shows a very frantic behavior, some ramblings, and erratic questions. Now in fairness, I think nearly everyone is nervous talking to Police for the first time, or anytime for that matter.
Listen, I'm very much a Jared Grasso guy. I think he's a fiery personality, I loved interviewing him and think he was a coach on the rise in the sport. It goes without saying the hit and run, and the video that surfaced was not a great look. As far as these scoop guys, I have no comments because they can just throw out blanket statements of "it's bad" and no matter what comes out they can say they knew about it, or they were right. It's a shady business of making blanket statements and then trying to take the credit after. As far as now, the only thing we have is this video which is admittedly not great.
However, if we're talking about a coach who lives and breathes basketball tell me Grasso isn't a hoops head in every form of the word. Asking the cops if they wanted to shoot jumpers or if they play ball is a move of a good coach. What if this guy has eligibility left? What if he's got a good jumper, and the apple doesn't fall far from the tree so the officer has a son who hits 6'4 and can stroke it from 3 ? Wouldn't it be good to have that kid on your big board before everyone else in the conference ? Listen I've heard that college coaches have watched guys in big gyms, small gyms, cafeterias, and the park. Recruiting never sleeps. You can't fault a guy for trying to get a look at a potential prospect. Anyone can rattle off the ESPN TOP 100 prospects, but find me a guy who found his starting SG via a traffic stop, and I'll tell you that guy is a winner. Ball don't sleep.