Here's something you might be interested in.
"Being In The NFL Is A Privilege...Not A Right!" --"Philly Billy" Werndel, sports-talk jock.
In all of the hubub over Michael Vick's Traveling Redemption Show and Flagellation Hour, we almost forgot that there was another case involving an NFL star gone wrong. This time, however, both the league and the commissioner slammed the Unemployment Hammer down on this now ex-NFL star.
Dante Stallworth was arrested for driving under the influence of weed and booze, plus vehicular manslaughter. He was tried, convicted...then sentenced to 30 days in a Florida County Jail!
And Boy Howdy, did the feces slam into the fan blades! Many compared this sentence with what Michael Vick got..and, to say the least, found it wanting. As in wanting an explaination of how somebody "famous" got a thirty-day jail term for a crime that would get Joe Six-Pack five-to-ten years in a maximum-security state prison.
Never mind the fact that he's forbidden to drive ever again, or to have a driver's license. That's small potatoes...any fool can get behind the wheel of a car and drive off w/o a license, no matter what a judge orders. Of course, such actions mean time in the pokey...but who cares!
No, Mr. Stallworth's worst punishment came from the NFL. "Rough Rider" Roger Godell threw the book at Dante Stallworth, banishing him from the NFL for the 2009 season. The High Executioner of the NFL strikes again, and Dante Stallworth is now unable to pursue his chosen profession as a wide reciever for the Cleveland Browns.
Them the other whammy hit! The Browns have made it clear that starting in 2010, Dante Stallworth will no longer be playing in a Cleveland Browns uniform. So now the Browns are continuing Goddell's punishment, and depriving Dante Stallworth of working in his "chosen profession."
Well, before anybody hauls out the "boo-hoo" rags for Dante, let's think this through, shall we? First, being employed by ANY employer, be it Honeybee Septic Service or the National Football League, is a...say it with me now...PRIVILEGE! Just as your employer might take a chance on you and employ you, so they can terminate that employment and boot your butt out the door! Nobody owes any person "a living." There is no "right" to work at your "chosen profession." If you break your employer's rules, retribution often comes swift, sure, and final.
Second, consider this. Although Mr. Stallworth may have done his jail time, plus is facing extra legal sanctions (with severe consequences for violating them)? He still faces civil action for the death of a father/grandfather/normal citizen via motor vehicle while DUI. Although Mr. Stallworth's camp alleges "mitigating circumstances" in the incident (the man was crossing the street out of the crosswalk, ect)? Such circumstances are moot at best...and despicable at worst. After all, Mr. Stallworth's victim is not alive to defend himself in court!
So, the best that Dante Stallworth can hope for is to be re-signed by another team in 2010...if he wants to stay in the NFL, that is. As for 2009? I sure hope he saved up enough money to live on...or is putting in applications anywhere he can, just like the rest of us unemployed folks!
Sometimes, the worst sanctions one can get nailed with are not meted out by our criminal justice system. Dante Stallworth learned that the hard way...and all because he got behind the wheel of a car in no shape to drive.
So Long, Dante--We Hardly Knew Ye!
--Robbiebear
"Being In The NFL Is A Privilege...Not A Right!" --"Philly Billy" Werndel, sports-talk jock.
In all of the hubub over Michael Vick's Traveling Redemption Show and Flagellation Hour, we almost forgot that there was another case involving an NFL star gone wrong. This time, however, both the league and the commissioner slammed the Unemployment Hammer down on this now ex-NFL star.
Dante Stallworth was arrested for driving under the influence of weed and booze, plus vehicular manslaughter. He was tried, convicted...then sentenced to 30 days in a Florida County Jail!
And Boy Howdy, did the feces slam into the fan blades! Many compared this sentence with what Michael Vick got..and, to say the least, found it wanting. As in wanting an explaination of how somebody "famous" got a thirty-day jail term for a crime that would get Joe Six-Pack five-to-ten years in a maximum-security state prison.
Never mind the fact that he's forbidden to drive ever again, or to have a driver's license. That's small potatoes...any fool can get behind the wheel of a car and drive off w/o a license, no matter what a judge orders. Of course, such actions mean time in the pokey...but who cares!
No, Mr. Stallworth's worst punishment came from the NFL. "Rough Rider" Roger Godell threw the book at Dante Stallworth, banishing him from the NFL for the 2009 season. The High Executioner of the NFL strikes again, and Dante Stallworth is now unable to pursue his chosen profession as a wide reciever for the Cleveland Browns.
Them the other whammy hit! The Browns have made it clear that starting in 2010, Dante Stallworth will no longer be playing in a Cleveland Browns uniform. So now the Browns are continuing Goddell's punishment, and depriving Dante Stallworth of working in his "chosen profession."
Well, before anybody hauls out the "boo-hoo" rags for Dante, let's think this through, shall we? First, being employed by ANY employer, be it Honeybee Septic Service or the National Football League, is a...say it with me now...PRIVILEGE! Just as your employer might take a chance on you and employ you, so they can terminate that employment and boot your butt out the door! Nobody owes any person "a living." There is no "right" to work at your "chosen profession." If you break your employer's rules, retribution often comes swift, sure, and final.
Second, consider this. Although Mr. Stallworth may have done his jail time, plus is facing extra legal sanctions (with severe consequences for violating them)? He still faces civil action for the death of a father/grandfather/normal citizen via motor vehicle while DUI. Although Mr. Stallworth's camp alleges "mitigating circumstances" in the incident (the man was crossing the street out of the crosswalk, ect)? Such circumstances are moot at best...and despicable at worst. After all, Mr. Stallworth's victim is not alive to defend himself in court!
So, the best that Dante Stallworth can hope for is to be re-signed by another team in 2010...if he wants to stay in the NFL, that is. As for 2009? I sure hope he saved up enough money to live on...or is putting in applications anywhere he can, just like the rest of us unemployed folks!
Sometimes, the worst sanctions one can get nailed with are not meted out by our criminal justice system. Dante Stallworth learned that the hard way...and all because he got behind the wheel of a car in no shape to drive.
So Long, Dante--We Hardly Knew Ye!
--Robbiebear