Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth has received his punishment from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell: he’ll miss the entire 2009 season without pay.
Stallworth, 28, who pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter in Florida in connection with a March 14 crash in which he struck and killed construction worker Mario Reyes, will be reinstated after the Super Bowl in February 2010, the league said.
Portions of a letter Goodell had written to Stallworth were released by the league earlier today:
“In my view, the essential facts are that you had alcohol in your system well above the legal limit, made a conscious decision to drive, and struck and killed a man. As you recognize, this conduct and the loss of life has caused serious damage to the NFL and NFL players generally. Legal arguments that focus on criminal liability under Florida law do not diminish that damage or your responsibility for your conduct. via.
Serious tangible damage to the NFL and its players? I doubt it, and I think this suspension is too heavy-handed. Unlike the state of Florida, Goodell isn’t bound by inconveniences like the presumption of innocence, for example. He can do whatever the hell he wants, and he is. Stallworth, for all intents and purposes, has paid his debt to society, and there’s no tangible evidence, other than drawing the ire of a few bitchy columnists, suggesting that Stallworth’s conduct has hurt the NFL’s bottom line.
I can appreciate Goodell’s position that he doesn’t want to be the guy that trots out a skill-position player for everyone to cheer on after he ran over “an innocent man” in his Bentley. While he was legally impaired. But considering that Stallworth is under contract with the Browns, he might come out ahead on that deal. It’s funny because the Browns are godawful, see.
Donte’ Stallworth may have escaped big jail time from the state of Florida after hitting and killing a man while driving under the influence in March, but the Cleveland Browns wide receiver won’t get the same respite from the NFL. Two days after Stallworth began his 30-day prison term, NFL Commisar Roger Goodell placed Stallworth on indefinite suspension, notifying him in a letter that was excerpted on NFL.com:
“The conduct reflected in your guilty plea resulted in the tragic loss of life and was inexcusable. While the criminal justice system has determined the legal consequences of this incident, it is my responsibility as NFL Commissioner to determine appropriate league discipline for your actions, which have caused irreparable harm to the victim and his family, your club, your fellow players and the NFL.”[...]
“In due course, we will contact your representatives to schedule a meeting with you, after which I will make a final determination on discipline. Pending my final determination, you will not be permitted to visit the club’s facility or participate in any team activities.”
This had to happen. If Goodell intends to take a hard line with player behavior, then no player is begging to be eviscerated more than Stallworth. Goodell isn’t bound by the need to prove Stallworth guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and that’s fine. But under the precedents Goodell has set with Chris Henry and Pacman Jones, he has to drop the hammer on Stallworth. I don’t think a year suspension is too long; Goodell could suspend him for the rest of his career if he chose. You know how cranky those gingers can get sometimes.
UPDATE: UPI is reporting that Stallworth will spend only 30 days in jail as part of his plea. Seriously?! You could spend more time in jail on a tour.
After pleading not guilty to a DUI manslaughter charge stemming from hitting a pedestrian in March, Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte’ Stallworth is expected to plead guilty today after agreeing to a plea deal with the prosecution. From the Miami CBS affiliate:
Now Stallworth has reportedly agreed to plead guilty to DUI manslaughter in exchange for a shortened jail sentence followed by a lengthy probation period.
Terry Chavez, spokeswoman for the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, said the Reyes family had been pushing hard to resolve the case. “We have been in intense negotiations for the past couple of days,” Chavez said. “We always take the victim’s wishes into account.”
That push may have had something to do with the cash settlement to which the Reyes family agreed with Stallworth (thanks, flubby on the KSK twitter). Terms of Stallworth’s length of stay in prison were not mentioned in the report; that’ll be up to the judge. Of course, Stallworth could still face the most severe punishment: playing the rest of his career with the Cleveland Browns. Ugh, no thanks. Orange jumpsuits are more fashionable than orange helmets anyday.
Jason Cole at Yahoo! Sports is reporting that Cleveland Browns wideout Donte’ Stallworth could beat a DUI manslaughter charge based on a technicality in the Florida legal code. Stallworth, you’ll remember, was finally charged six weeks ago after mowing down a pedestrian in March and subsequently blowing a .126 on the drinky-meter:
According to Florida’s DUI manslaughter law, there are exceptions under what is called “causation” of an accident. In short, someone who is driving drunk and causes an accident is not necessarily responsible if the other party did something to contribute to the accident. Florida statute 316.119 was changed in the 1980s to reflect that after a state Supreme Court judge ruled that the state’s previous strict liability standard on drunken drivers was essentially unfair.
The exception is based on the idea that if a drunken driver stopped at an intersection was hit by another car and the driver of the other car died, the drunken driver should not be held responsible.
The issue of “causation” would be satisfied in that the pedestrian was jaywalking when Stallworth hit him. Stallworth, who is scheduled for arraignment today, could see any jailtime fall from up to 15 years down to a matter of months. I guess that’s why they paint those white lines at street corners. Maybe this will serve as a message to all those jagoffs that jaywalk really slowly right in front of my approaching car. One of these days, I’m just gonna roll over one of those people. And don’t that little fake jog pretending to get out of the way, either. Unless you have enormous breasts. In which case, hey baby, what’s your hurry?
Browns wide receiver Donte’ Stallworth was finally charged yesterday in the death of 59-year-old Mario Reyes, a construction worker who Stallworth hit with his Bentley on the morning of March 14th.
Stallworth’s blood-alcohol level after the crash was .126, well above Florida’s legal limit of .08, according to results of a blood test. Stallworth will also be charged with DUI, which carries a possible six-month sentence plus fines and community service for first offenders.
“Whenever a deadly accident occurs and a driver is impaired, families suffer,” said Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle in a statement.
Stallworth made arrangements to turn himself into authorities this morning; the league is reviewing the case to determine if disciplinary action will be taken. Driving drunk is one of those things that works every time except the last time. Which is why you should always drive drunk at least once. It’s part of growing up, just like stealing from convenience stores and sodomizing farm animals. They’re experiences that bring us together. In a place called “prison.”
UPDATE: The Herald is reporting that Stallworth had a BAC of 0.12 at the time of that crash Saturday morning. The legal limit is 0.08; the police have not confirmed the story.
Police are still investigating the man vs. car showdown that killed a 59-year old Miami resident when he was struck by a Bentley driven by Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte’ Stallworth. Stallworth was driving down a causeway linking Miami and Miami Beach on Saturday morning when he struck Mario Reyes, a crane operator who had literally just finished his shift for the day. As of this writing, no charges have been filed.
Items still unclear are whether Stallworth was under the influence of drugs or alcohol while he was behind the wheel. The Miami Herald has video of the sobriety test that police issued Stallworth on the scene after the collision. Police drew blood from Stallworth at the scene, and at least one report says Stallworth will be charged with DUI manslaughter.
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