As the draft approaches, one of the most controversial prospect has a second past incident bubbling to the surface. However, the man who alleged that his daughter was struck by Joe Mixon in high school has since reversed course.
In a report read by the lawyer for the woman struck by Mixon in 2014 during her interview with police, Anthony Hernandez said, “I know for a fact he threw my daughter to the ground and hit her.” Hernandez, who made the claim originally on Facebook, thereafter recanted his claims with another Facebook post.
On March 30, 2017, Hernandez forwarded the text of the clarification to Mixon’s lawyer, Blake Johnson of Crowe & Dunlevy. On Wednesday morning, Blake Johnson forwarded the clarification to PFT.
“I have recently learned that a comment I made about Joe Mixon on social media a few years ago is now receiving a lot of attention. I want to explain that comment and clarify that I do not believe Joe ever did anything to hurt my daughter,” Hernandez wrote.
“My daughter went to Freedom High School with Joe, and they have been friends for much of their lives. Once, when they were in school together, my daughter had a minor disagreement with some of her classmates that got blown out of proportion. Like any father would, I reacted emotionally. Unfortunately, I did so before I had all the facts. Now, having talked to my daughter and investigated the whole story, I realize that I was mistaken about Joe’s involvement. I definitely overreacted, and I regret that my words might have given some people the wrong impression about Joe. I know that Joe did not hurt my daughter, did not intend to, and would not do so.
“Joe and my daughter are still good friends. Joe is a great kid with a bright future in front of him, and he is welcome in my home anytime.
“My family and I value our privacy. I hope that my statement puts this matter to rest. We will not respond to further media inquiries about this.”
Blake Johnson also told PFT that he “spoke to multiple administrative officials at Freedom High School who assured me that no such incident ever took place there,” and that Mixon’s disciplinary record from high school reveals no such incident.
“Norman Police also ran Joe’s juvenile record with law enforcement in California and they had no record of any such report or incident (or any other criminal incident on part of Joe),” Johnson said via email. “I’m fairly confident that the incident described in Mr. Hernandez’s original [Facebook] post did not happen.”