And why not? Driving after drinking is never a smart move, and is in fact a flagrant and deplorable crime against society as a whole, and police agencies around the country have an incredibly tough job of keeping the streets safe from selfish and immature people who get hammered and decide to go for a drive, sometimes erring on the side of caution - completely understandable.
But Dennard denies that he was intoxicated. Police reports claim that he failed a roadside sobriety test after they pulled Dennard over after observing him "straddling the lane line", while the second year corner said he blew the breathalyzer twice and was told each time that he hadn't blown hard enough to register a reading.
The police report claims that Dennard refused to take a chemical test to determine his blood alcohol level, which is within his prudence to do so, but the Dennard camp maintains that he was never asked to take a blood test and that he passed the field sobriety test...
...yet the former University of Nebraska standout was taken to the Detoxification wing at the county lockup, in custody on suspicion of DUI, refusing a chemical test and a driving infraction.
And blah, blah, blah, he said, she said blah, blah.
Whether Dennard is guilty of drunken driving has no bearing on his most egregious crime of all, that of unbelievable stupidity.
What in the hell was he doing back at a night club in Lincoln, Nebraska?
This is the place that he was convicted last summer of belting a cop in the face outside (you guessed it) a night club - a felony conviction that carried with it a maximum five year prison sentence, but the court levied only a 30 day stay at the iron bar motel, and not until the completion of the 2013 NFL season...
...and if he stayed out of trouble, the judge said she would listen to a motion to set aside his jail time altogether - a ruling that probably didn't set too well with the officers of the city of Lincoln.
Knowing this, and knowing that during the assault trial his defense attorney had inferred that the city's police officers fabricated evidence and corroborated stories amongst themselves in the past made him a marked man, the question looms: Why?
Were he satisfying his 100 hours of court ordered community service, his presence in Lincoln would have been understandable, if not mandatory. But to have even one drop of alcohol, or even just being seen leaving a night club and get behind the wheel of his car - knowing that they were watching him - constitutes stupidity beyond belief.
Now, Dennard has to leave training camp six days in to appear before a Judge in Lincoln who will determine whether the evidence presented by the police and District Attorney amounts to enough to violate his probation terms which, if it is determined that he had, he will miss the rest of camp and at least portions of the 2013 season either in jail or under suspension by the team and the league - or both.
The evidence against Dennard will be disputed lustily by his defense attorney and he may avoid jail, but it doesn't mean that he will escape the wrath of Roger Goodell, who was already trying to find angles to punish Dennard for last summer's felony conviction...
...which happened before he was an employee of the league - so this latest episode makes it easy for the NFL's long-tenured disciplinarian to slap him with a hefty suspension as a habitual offender.
No matter how this turns out for Dennard, his next move is clear: Serve whatever punishment the court deems necessary and get the hell out of Lincoln, never to return.
Got friends there? Invite them to come visit you. Pay for their trip.
Got family there? Use your six figure salary to move them close to you.
Concerned about the youth in Lincoln and want to continue your role in serving the community? You've done your part.
Lincoln, Nebraska is not the only place in the world where cops have been alleged to fabricate evidence and stalk and entrap people that they've targeted, but it is the place where they've obviously targeted you, and to remain there is akin to self-abuse and career suicide.
Just sayin'...
No comments:
Post a Comment