As troubling as it is to hear of former Washington Huskies guard Venoy Overton's second arrest this year, it's no surprise that UW coach Lorenzo Romar is particularly disappointed.
"I have been informed of the arrest of Venoy Overton and I am extremely disappointed," Romar said in a UW Athletics release. "My staff and I spent an extraordinary amount of time and energy attempting to mentor Venoy prior to his recent graduation, so this news is especially troubling."
And Romar's handling of Overton's prior run-in with the law was met with mixed reviews, to put it mildly, as detailed by Todd Dybas of Sportspress NW in late-May.
Romar allowed Overton to play and chose not to publicly punish Overton until formal charges were made just before the Pac-10 tournament. Although Romar suspended Overton for the Huskies' Pac-10 Tournament championship run, Overton was re-instated for the 2011 NCAA Tournament.
In responding to Overton's first charge of the year in the manner that he did, he took something of a compassionate leap of faith in hopes that he could help Overton learn something from the situation rather than disciplining him as harshly as some might have preferred. Given the criticism that Romar drew as a result of that approach, it's hard to imagine how he wouldn't be especially disappointed by today's news.
As reported by Seattle Times reporter Percy Allen, Overton would not have had to, "to answer for the charge for supplying alcohol to a minor would if he avoided new criminal charges for a year and completed 24 hours of community service in the next two months."
So things not only got worse for Overton this year, but are about to get considerably more complicated legally.