What was Mark Barron thinking?

News reports early this morning showed that Alabama’s standout Senior Safety Mark Barron was arrested and charged with one misdemeanor count of hindering prosecution. That charge can range anywhere from lying to investigators to sheltering a fugitive.

As it turns out, Barron was charged with lying to a police officer regarding a cousin’s use of his vehicle. From a WKRG News report earlier today:

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Someone called 911 about 5:00 a.m. to report an abandoned vehicle on I-10 at Michigan Avenue. When the officer arrived, Barron was with the 2008 Chrysler 300, which had hit the retaining wall. Barron told police a man he only knew as "Bull" had taken his car from Shotgun Willies, a night club in the 4100 block of Government Blvd. But during the investigation, police learned Barron's cousin, Jamal Lang, was actually driving the car at the time of the crash. Lang will be issued a citation for leaving the scene of an accident.

Police say after they learned about Lang's involvement, they gave Barron every opportunity to change his story. The arresting officer says he begged Barron to tell the truth, showed him the law about hindering prosecution and explained he would have to arrest him if Barron continued to cover for his cousin. Police say they even got Barron's mother and grandmother to try and convince him. But Barron refused to admit his cousin was driving the car.

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I won’t make light of the case by dismissing this as a stupid decision that led to a misdemeanor arrest. Anytime you are hauled to jail, booked and mugshot and forced to make bail to be released, you’re in trouble.

Mr. Barron appears to have made an incredibly stupid decision, and stuck with that decision even after law enforcement and his own family encouraged him to tell the truth.  I’m sure Coach Nick Saban and the Alabama AD staff will handle this properly.

But if this were my son, I’d have to ask him: “Boy, what the hell were you thinking?”