Marcus Dixons Parents Talk with VandySports.com

In many ways, the past two years of Marcus Dixon's life can be defined by two phone calls — both from the Vanderbilt athletic department.

One, placed two years ago this month, was from offensive coordinator Ted Cain, who first contacted Marcus on behalf of Vanderbilt to announce the program's interest in signing him to a football scholarship. The second, placed a year ago this month, was from head coach Bobby Johnson, who had been charged with informing Dixon of the university's decision to rescind that scholarship offer.

What a difference a year makes.

Dixon now sits in a Georgia prison cell, serving a mandatory 10-year prison sentence for child molestation. In essence, the Floyd County district attorney exploited an apaprent loophole in Georgia law to get the conviction, which was the first time in the history of Georgia law that a high school teen was prosecuted for child molestation for having consensual sex with a classmate.

Dixon's case initially received little media attention in the small southern town of Rome, Georgia. However, earlier this month HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel began airing an in-depth report on his case that claims racism played an integral role in the DA's decision to prosecute Dixon. Two days later, Gumbel did an exclusive interview with VandySports and Rivals.com. (To read our interview with Gumbel, go to VandySports Interviews Real Sports' Bryant Gumbel.) Since then, interest in Dixon's appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court has skyrocketed, both locally and nationally.

Interest within the Vanderbilt community centers on Dixon's initial commitment to Vanderbilt, as well as the school's decision to withdraw its scholarship offer.

Marcus Dixon was no ordinary football recruit. He was, by virtually any account, one of the best defensive football prospects in America. In fact, Dixon was the highest rated player in new coach Bobby Johnson's first recruiting Vanderbilt class.

"He got letters from everybody," said Peri Jones, who with her husband Ken was awarded legal guardian status for Dixon several years ago after the courts ruled Dixon had effectively been abandoned by his natural parents.

Initially, Mrs. Jones was concerned that Marcus may be rushing his decision. "He actually committed to Vanderbilt really early in his junior year. I thought it was the wrong thing to do, that he should look around. Marcus looked at me and said, 'I know what I want. I would feel better if I go ahead and commit [to Vanderbilt]."

Dixon's Vanderbilt commitment certainly didn't stop other programs from trying to get Marcus to change his decision. Coaches from Georgia, Georgia Tech, Alabama, Auburn and even Southen California kept calling and writing. But Dixon's mind had apparently been made up. "He stuck with [Vanderbilt] the entire time," stated Mrs. Jones. "Never, ever, did he feel he made a mistake. He talked with [Vanderbilt recruiting coordinator and linebackers coach] Turner all the time! I think Marcus drove him crazy," she laughed.

Dixon had a regular response for each of the competing coaches who were pleading their case: "I'll just see you out on the field!", he'd laugh. "He never wavered. He felt that he could make a difference at Vanderbilt."

"When Vanderbilt offered him a scholarship, he was different," pondered Mr. Jones. "There was something about Vanderbilt that made him feel different — that they thought he was smart enough to go there. That really meant something to him." It was a moment Dixon later said was one of the best of his life.

The days turned considerably darker once the accusations of his alleged transgressions were announced. (For background on the case, visit our previous story at RealSports' Marcus Dixon Story Background). Even though Dixon was a near straight A student, and had never been in any legal trouble in the past, most people quickly assumed that Dixon was guilty as charged. According to Mr. Jones, the local Rome newspaper went out of their way to convict Marcus in the court of public opinion long before a trial had started.

The Nashville press wasn't any kinder on Johnson. "Coach Johnson told us, 'If you think it's bad down there, you ought to read the paper up here!' He said [The Tennessean] was just bashing them constantly, accusing them of only caring about Marcus' football ability, and not about his character."

Though Marcus and the Vanderbilt coaches had forged a strong personal bond, that relationship apparently could not withstand the relentless groundswell of pressure from the local Nashville media for Vanderbilt to cut its ties to Dixon. Though Marcus had never been convicted of any crime — and in the end was not convicted of anything the Floyd County DA had originally charged him other than misdemeanor statuatory rape — the Vanderbilt administration told Coach Johnson to rescind their scholarship offer to Dixon.

"Coach Johnson called us personally and told us he terribly regretted what was going on, and that his thoughts and prayers were with Marcus," stated Jones. He told us he loved Marcus to death, but the papers down there were just bashing them so bad, saying they were only recruiting Marcus for football, and that [Coach Johnson] would do anything to have a winning team. He said that if Marcus continued to be with Vanderbilt that he would be under a microscope, and [considering the emotional weight of his appeal to the Supreme Court] he didn't think it was fair for Marcus or for the school to go through something like that."

"It hurt Marcus' feelings real bad," said Mr. Jones. "Even though he had other coaches calling him day in and day out, trying to get him to go to another school, he stuck with them. Then, when the going got a little tough, even though people had only heard one side of the story, they just kind of wanted to wash Marcus away. "

It was clear to the Joneses and to Marcus, however, that Johnson's hands were tied. "Marcus doesn't feel that way about the coaches. He loves them, and still has the utmost respect for them. Marcus knows it wasn't their decision. We respect Coach Johnson and all the Vandy coaches fully."

So, if his appeal is upheld, would Marcus want to play for Vanderbilt? "Oh, I am sure he still has those feelings for Vanderbilt," his father said. "He probably thinks about it all the time. I think he'd probably love to see if that would be possible. But he respects Coach Johnson too much to put him in a tough position. He wouldn't want to do anything to hurt him or the other coaches.

"I always believe everything will straighten itself out," continued Jones. "I don't know who the athletics director was at the time, but I understand he's gone. I don't know why he's gone, but I always believe that everything has a purpose. Maybe [his leaving] will be a part of something good coming out of this.

"Right now, though, football is the farthest thing from his mind," continued Jones. The only think we think about now is his court case, and getting him out of prison."

According to the legal team representing Dixon's appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court, the expenses associated with the appeal are staggering. The original court case alone costed the Joneses $20,000.00. And because of Marcus' physical stature, prison rations are not sufficient to feed him — so the Joneses deliver $100.00 of food to him every week. The prison also charges Dixon $7.00 per phone call.

A web site has been created whereby people can donate money to help cover these and other expenses. The site — HelpMarcus.com — also seeks to answer frequently asked questions about the appeal, and provides a forum for people to share their thoughts about Dixon's case and appeal.

The Real Sports program that features the Marcus Dixon story will continue to air several times a day on HBO and HBO2 until November 25, 2003.