Saban: I suspended Taylor over DUI charge because he endangered others

It's been a tumultuous few weeks for Nick Saban and the Alabama program, capped off by the legendary coach's decision Monday to suspend guard Alphonse Taylor indefinitely due to a recent DUI arrest and charge.

The disciplinary move came days after Saban decided Cam Robinson and Hootie Jones would not miss any time for a drug/weapons arrest earlier this summer. Saban explained his reasoning Tuesday on ESPN's "SportsCenter."

"I think when you have a DUI, what makes it significantly different is you've put other people in danger by the choices you have made and the decision you made," Saban said, according to AL.com's Michael Casagrande. "So that, to me, is a little more serious in terms of what we need to do. I would like to look at what we're doing with Alphonse Taylor, not as a punishment, but as a treatment of what we need to do to help him be a better player, to be a better person, to make better choices and decisions in the future."

Charges against Robinson and Jones were eventually dropped after prosecutors claimed a lack of evidence. Still, Saban's decision not to suspend them was met with some criticism.

"I think those circumstances are completely different and I think the statement that I made about when you chose to do this and you put other people at risk, that makes it in a different category, and that's what this situation is being treated differently," the five-time national champion said. "But we treat every situation differently with the players based on their history, what they've done and the facts."

Whether Taylor will be available for the season opener against USC on Sept. 3 is yet to be determined.