The night before Ha Ha Clinton-Dix was set to leave Alabama headed to Florida to visit his family, he loaded his car with all his essentials: clothes, shoes, an iPad ... and money.
Overnight, his 2012 Dodge Charger was broken into. The Alabama standout safety was easy prey for robbers, with his doors left unlocked and his vehicle loaded with valuables, including about $200 in cash, a source close to the situation told Sporting News.
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Determined to make the trip home anyway, Clinton-Dix borrowed money from Alabama assistant strength and conditioning coach, Corey Harris. The junior filed a police report and later repaid Harris.
On Thursday, coach Nick Saban announced that Clinton-Dix has been indefinitely suspended for a violation of team rules. Meanwhile, Harris has been placed on administrative leave.
Clinton-Dix provided bank records to the university compliance office that confirmed his repayment of the loan amount to Harris. Still, the loan was an NCAA violation.
"In hindsight, it would have been best to determine another manner in which to help, but Coach Corey is only guilty of being a coach who truly cared and knew the importance of him going to see his family," the source told Sporting News.
The source also called for Harris to be taken off of leave. However, in investigating the situation, the compliance office also discovered that Harris has connections to a representative of a sports agent. Clinton-Dix had no contact with the agent's representative.
"It is quite clear neither the player nor the coach had intent to do wrong or circumvent NCAA guidelines," the source added.
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That, ultimately, will be up the university and the NCAA to decide.
For now, Clinton-Dix, projected in Sporting News' most recent 2014 NFL Mock Draft as a first-round draft pick, will be sidelined.
Clinton-Dix is second on the team with 24 tackles.
Alabama plays Georgia State on Saturday, followed by games against Kentucky, Arkansas and Tennessee before a Nov. 9 matchup against No. 10 LSU.