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Virginia Tech football player Cody Journell sprayed a can of pepper-spray in Blacksburg’s Buffalo Wild Wings last Thursday night, clearing out the restaurant and bar.
The incident happened around 9 p.m. Thursday as Journell and some of his friends were watching the Virginia Tech-Virginia basketball game.
Journell described the incident as an accident and expressed regret.
“Stuff likes this happens,” Journell said, “Accidents happen.”
According to Journell, he was describing to his friend how her small can of pepper-spray worked, holding the key-chain sized can in his hand. As he passed it back to her, it was triggered and released.
According to a server who was working at the time and witnessed the incident, Journell immediately approached someone who worked at the restaurant and admitted that it was him and that it had been an accident.
Later, Journell went to the police himself to report the incident.
The entire bar and most of the restaurant ran outside onto the patio. People were crying, coughing and throwing up from the effects of the gas.
The restaurant was cleared for approximately an hour and about $50 dollars of tabs were left unpaid. Those working at the time also lost money in unpaid tips.
“I think he meant to do it,” the server admitted, based on observation, “But I don’t think he knew it was going to have the effect that it had.”
“He was extremely apologetic,” the server emphasized.
Buffalo Wild Wings and those affected are currently not pressing any charges. Police did not make an arrest.
A security camera caught the incident on tape, but the Collegiate Times was unable to obtain a copy of the video.
Buffalo Wild Wings was unavailable for comment.
Journell, who will be a redshirt-senior in the fall, is kicker on the football team. In 2012, he played in all 13 games, kicking game winners against Georgia Tech, Boston College and Virginia. He went 20-25 on field goal attempts in 2012.
On Dec. 21, 2011, Journell and two others went to the apartment of Tech basketball player Dorenzo Hudson and his roommate to retrieve stolen marijuana, according to prosecutors.
Journell remained in jail through Dec. 28 before being released on a $100,000 secured bond. He was suspended from the team until his legal matters were resolved. In May, the court found Journell guilty of misdemeanor trespassing. He was sentenced to 100 hours of community service.
Follow this writer on Twitter @MalloryNoePayne
Sports editor Matt Jones contributed to this report.
A version of this article appeared in the Feb 1 issue of the Collegiate Times.
Leave a comment 42 Comments Write a letter to the editor
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What a knuckle head.
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Cody has become an embarrassment to Virginia Tech
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Pretty standard behavior for a revenue sport athlete from Tech.
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accidents happen big deal it's obvious he didn't mean too.
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Can you really classify a kicker as a "football player?"
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Cody Journell is a waste of a human being who has no business playing on the football team or even attending Virginia Tech. It is embarrassing that the school I'm graduating from continues to support an idiot like Journell.
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Accidents do happen, like that broken condom that led to Cody being born.
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saying "accidents happen, big deal" only reveals an ignorance to the world around us. so what if it was an accident, there were still some serious consequences to those around him. a quality person doesn't take that kind of attitude to this situation; they own up to it and attempt to make amends and move forward. there are consequences to accidents; whether we like it or not.
he's owned up to it, hopefully he goes back to cover some of the lost tab and tip money.
as well as learning not to put himself in frequent unwanted situations.
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I'm confused, after his last legal run-in, Beamer called him a "good person"...so he must be a good kid who was just in a bad place. Come to think of it, that happens to a lot of Tech players: http://emptytrophycase.blogspot.com/2000/01/good-kids-bad-place.html
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He's a good person! Frank Beamer said so!
http://emptytrophycase.blogspot.com/2000/01/good-kids-bad-place.html
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Compared to Marcus Vick, Cody Journell is a saint.
Oh wait....
Different circumstances? Yes
Double standard when comparing the two? Definately.
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Says the person who has NEVER done anything wrong.Grow up,oh wait,you can't.
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Yeah, pepper spray doesn't easily discharge. He meant to do it. Not knowing the effects is no excuse. His judgment hasn't improved. He should be gone from the team.
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Not really, other than the Vick brothers Tech hasn't really had any thugs on the team.
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Just to clarify, the "people were crying, coughing" due to the pepper-spray.
They were throwing up from the mediocre Buffalo Wild Wings food.
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Some would be embarrased by you. I note you said nothing about the patrons who walked out on their tabs.
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Sounds like thebwings needed more pepper
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>too
I hope you don't go to school here if you're still making grammar mistakes like that.
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" >too "
" I hope you don't go to school here if you're still making grammar mistakes like that. "
Pot meet kettle
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He's been an embarrassment to Virginia Tech for a long time. They've just put up with it because he helps them win, and that's the only thing that matters to them.
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deangelo hall, corey moore, ike charlton, ken oxendine all were in trouble with the law more than them dang duke boys
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I talked to someone on the wait staff at bdubbs and this entire article is wrong and only serves to paint Cody in a favorable light. I heard after the incident he just ran off. And they lost $4000 worth of food and tabs not $50. There was no fact checking at all.
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This was totally a freak accident and in no way could have been prevented by, say, not playing around with pepper spray in a public place. I mean really, don't we all do that every day?
Poor Cody though, it must be rough being an athlete here at Virginia Tech. I mean it's not like they get passes for things other students would be facing discipline for. Dear Leader Beamer says he's good so it must be true.
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"I mean it's not like they get passes for things other students would be facing discipline for."
Really? Yea, because if I, as a normal, non-athletic Tech student, had pepper spray accidentally discharge in public, I'm sure Tech would be all over it and have me suspended. Right? Um, no.
My question is why do we care what he's doing in public? He's good on the field. That's what we want him for the majority of the time.
When Logan Thomas throws an interception, we b!tch and whine and put him down. Nobody ever stops and says, "Oh, but he's a good guy in public with no criminal record. No big deal that he threw that 20 yards behind the guy it was supposed to go to."
Ugh, get over it. Cody made a mistake. He owned up to it at Bdubs and went to the police himself.
Move on with life. Maybe CT can find more important things to talk about.
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Then why didn't BW3's press charges?? That makes BDub's look ignorant. They probably wanted to spare his family any more embarrasment. Maybe your story needs fact checking?
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I'm sure that BWWWs didn't press charges because they didn't want to go up in court against Jimmy Turk, the athletics department lawyer. Turk is heavily involved in the athletics department and is on the Virginia Tech Athletic Fund board of directors. I'm sure that he makes sure he gets his fair share of the athletic fund defending the frequent criminal actions of our fine athletes, but that's besides the point. Turk is one of those lawyers that defends cocaine smugglers, murderers, and of course VT football kickers robbing a VT basketball player over $60 worth of marijuana. This is a guy who will drag out a case Johnny Cochran style and make you regret pressing charges. I'm sure even if BWWWs did win the case, the legal fees and time involved in prosecuting against Turk would not be worth the "$4000" in food and tips lost.
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