Monday, October 23, 2006

Athletes on trial

I don't know what's going on this year, or if it's always been this bad and I've just been not paying attention, but there seems to have been an abundance of athletes arrested this year. Below you'll find a smattering of this year's arrests, ever mindful that this list is by no means comprehensive. Someone, anyone, explain this phenomenon to me.

Former Ohio State Buckeye and Denver Bronco Maurice Clarett gets 3.5 years for a weapons charge
He was arrested driving with open alcohol bottles in his car; with a shotgun and a machete, coincidentally in neighborhood of a woman who previously testified against him in court.
Mo Clarett

A University of Northern Colorado 3rd-string punter was arrested for attempted murder for stabbing the starting punter in the leg, leaving a 3-5 inch deep laceration, or at least arranged for the stabbing, allegedly because he wanted to be the starter.
UNC Punter assault

Fresno high school baseball player Brandon Madrid gets 8 months in prison for an in-game jaw-breaking punch against a guy who slid into him, cleats-up, at 3rd base.
HS Baseballer jailed

Washington Wizards players Gilbert Arenas and Awvee Storey arrested in Miami on Memorial Day weekend. Arenas allegedly declared "You can’t arrest me. I’m a basketball player. I play for the Washington Wizards, and I’m not going to leave my teammate.” when police told him to back away while they were arresting Storey.
Wizards arrested

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Koren Robinson arrested for repeated DUI's. Sentenced to 90 days and suspended from the league for a year.
Koren Robinson DUI's

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry has been arrested 4 times since December for various charges.
Chris Henry's Legal Woes

Indiana Pacer Stephen Jackson charged with reckless endangerment for firing shots in the air during an altercation outside a strip club.
Stephen Jackson in trouble again

Former NBA all-star center Jayson Williams killed his chauffeur in a gun accident, then attempted to cover it up. The evidence at trial looked like he was going to be convicted, but a mistrial was declared when the jury deadlocked and he walked. Now it looks like it is going to be re-tried, though that is pending decision in the NJ State Supreme Court in the coming weeks.
Jayson Williams re-trial

In a bizarre tale from the summer, that keeps getting more bizarre, San Diego Chargers linebacker Steve Foley led an off-duty police officer in an unmarked car on a high speed chase that ended at his home. He got out and approached the officer, who now admits to never showing a badge. The officer shot him 3 times because he claims he saw Foley reach into his waistband, though it is now known he was unarmed. Foley's girlfriend was in the car too, and when she saw him get shot, she got behind the wheel and allegedly tried to run over the officer who she claims she thought was a carjacker. She is being charged with attempted assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer.
Foley was allegedly going to be charged with 2 counts of misdemeanor drunk driving (blood alcohol of .233), suspected steroid use and possibly harboring a fugitive girlfriend (a charge that has since been shown to be baseless). Now with the officers admission that he never showed a badge, and the fact that he was in his own vehicle, not a police car and he was not in uniform, and that Foley was unarmed, leaves Foley, who is still unable to walk because of the injuries, some 3 months later, open to sue for the cop shooting him for the nearly $2million he lost as a result of being unable to play this season. Like I said, bizarre.
Steve Foley 1
Steve Foley follow-up

Finally, This one didn't happen this year, but it was one of the most irresponsible, idiotic things I've seen out of an athlete.
St. Louis Ram Leonard Little was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and DUI in 1998 when he ran a red light and killed a lady while driving with a .19 blood alcohol level. He spent 90 days in jail and 4 years on probation. Then in 2004, another DUI. He deserves all the bad things that happen to him in life.
Leonard Little at it again

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