Stallworth stuff
-
I know he isn't on the team anymore. But there has been a huge judgmental swath of opinions on his actions. So I wanted to post this from PFT.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/...s-to-the-field/
On Thursday night, Ravens receiver Donte' Stallworth played in an NFL game for the first time since the March 2009 accident that changed his life -- and ended the life of Mario Reyes, a 59-year-old Miami resident.
Stallworth caught one pass for 26 yards against the Panthers, and he's expected to make the Baltimore team and play an important role in the rotation.
A recent article from Les Carpenter of Yahoo! Sports suggests that Stallworth's return could have come a lot sooner, but for his decision to take full responsibility for the accident. Per Carpenter, Stallworth "ordered" his lawyers to accept a plea deal to felony DUI manslaughter despite evidence that easily created reasonable doubt as to whether Stallworth's legal intoxication actually "caused" Reyes' death. Put simply, Reyes was out of the crosswalk on a busy highway, and it's entirely possible that Stallworth would have struck and killed Reyes even if Stallworth had never consumed a drop of alcohol in his life.
Carpenter's article also hints at other unreleased evidence that would have helped Stallworth's case. Per Carpenter, Stallworth refused to permit the lawyers to do it.
But Stallworth didn't want Reyes' family to relive the incident in court. "He could have taken 15 different approaches," Stallworth friend Steve Boucher said. "He could have had people persuade him to take a more aggressive [defensive] position. He wouldn't do that. He took responsibility.
"His biggest concern was for the gentleman's daughter. He wanted [Reyes'] family to know he was remorseful."
Carpenter reports that Stallworth's lawyers repeatedly "shouted" at the 2002 first-round pick to fight the case.
The irony," lawyer David Cornwell told Carpenter, "is that a lot of the media and public was angry with the deal that he took. And the thing they wanted, for him to go to trial, was the thing he was trying to avoid for the family."
The anger came not from the deal itself, but from the apparent wrist slap Stallworth received; a brief jail term and a year of low-grade house arrest. But NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell ignored the lenient sentence and the evidence that pointed to a possible acquittal and focused on the end result -- a guilty plea to felony DUI manslaughter.
For that, Stallworth missed a full year of football.
But he's now free to play, and Stallworth shared with Carpenter the message that he's conveying to "anyone who will listen."
"Any little decision you make will have a subsequent reaction," Stallworth said. "Be cognizant of your decisions."
For Stallworth, two key decisions have shaped the past two years. The decision to drive drunk, and the decision to take full responsibility for a consequence that his drunk driving may not have actually caused.
So no matter how much you detest that he chose to drive drunk, and no matter how much you think rich athletes tend to get help that you and I would never get from the courts...
The truth is, he chose NOT get get that help, and go with the plea deal offered by the DA.
That's a stand up thing to do in light of the poor decision to get behind the wheel drunk.
-
True.. BUT, he is a millionaire and coud AFFORD a plea deal like that! Any other one of us would be in jail for life... It's all about MONEY. Don't fool yourself....
BUT, stallworth now has to live his life knowing he killed someone, and that has to be pretty brutal mentally..
-
True.. BUT, he is a millionaire and coud AFFORD a plea deal like that! Any other one of us would be in jail for life... It's all about MONEY. Don't fool yourself....
BUT, stallworth now has to live his life knowing he killed someone, and that has to be pretty brutal mentally..
True.. BUT, he is a millionaire and coud AFFORD a plea deal like that! Any other one of us would be in jail for life... It's all about MONEY. Don't fool yourself....
BUT, stallworth now has to live his life knowing he killed someone, and that has to be pretty brutal mentally..
Wrong. That's the point. The DA offered that plea and his lawyers screamed at him to go to court and fight the charges.
The plea deal would not have been offered had the mitigating circumstances not been present.
His lawyers wanted to get all charges dropped.
The money in his pocket had nothing to do with how this case resolved.
If it were you or me, we would most likely have gotten the same plea offer considering an average lawyer could have gotten the charges dropped.
-
It's easy to sepculate but nobody really knows what would happen to one of us if we were in his shoes. It's pointless to even discuss it.
-
True.. BUT, he is a millionaire and coud AFFORD a plea deal like that! Any other one of us would be in jail for life... It's all about MONEY. Don't fool yourself....
BUT, stallworth now has to live his life knowing he killed someone, and that has to be pretty brutal mentally..
Wrong. That's the point. The DA offered that plea and his lawyers screamed at him to go to court and fight the charges.
The plea deal would not have been offered had the mitigating circumstances not been present.
His lawyers wanted to get all charges dropped.
The money in his pocket had nothing to do with how this case resolved.
If it were you or me, we would most likely have gotten the same plea offer considering an average lawyer could have gotten the charges dropped.
Wrong. That's the point. The DA offered that plea and his lawyers screamed at him to go to court and fight the charges.
The plea deal would not have been offered had the mitigating circumstances not been present.
His lawyers wanted to get all charges dropped.
The money in his pocket had nothing to do with how this case resolved.
If it were you or me, we would most likely have gotten the same plea offer considering an average lawyer could have gotten the charges dropped.
all of the evidence and a witnesses statement shown that mr reyes was at fault by rushing out of no where, into oncoming traffic on the freeway so he could catch a bus. no, stalworth shouldn't have been drinking and driving because something bad can happen in a situation like that. but stalworth's drinking and driving didn't cause mr reyes' death.
-
Wrong. That's the point. The DA offered that plea and his lawyers screamed at him to go to court and fight the charges.
The plea deal would not have been offered had the mitigating circumstances not been present.
His lawyers wanted to get all charges dropped.
The money in his pocket had nothing to do with how this case resolved.
If it were you or me, we would most likely have gotten the same plea offer considering an average lawyer could have gotten the charges dropped.
all of the evidence and a witnesses statement shown that mr reyes was at fault by rushing out of no where, into oncoming traffic on the freeway so he could catch a bus. no, stalworth shouldn't have been drinking and driving because something bad can happen in a situation like that. but stalworth's drinking and driving didn't cause mr reyes' death.
all of the evidence and a witnesses statement shown that mr reyes was at fault by rushing out of no where, into oncoming traffic on the freeway so he could catch a bus. no, stalworth shouldn't have been drinking and driving because something bad can happen in a situation like that. but stalworth's drinking and driving didn't cause mr reyes' death.
I don't think ALL the evidence suggests that. I don't think you can put all the blame on Mr. Reyes.
The bottom line is this for me. I highly respect the fact that he manned up and admitted what he did. It takes an honorable man to do that. But frankly, I have no sympathy for what he did. Even if Reyes was completely at fault, Stallworth set himself up for failure. I don't think it's right to label this a "mistake". A mistake is getting into a fender bender, or slipping and spilling coffee on someone. Getting in a car drunk and driving is just not alright, I don't give a shit who it is. He definitely deserved a second chance and I respect the man for how he treated the situation, but he deserves to have this hang over his head cause it was completely his fault for putting himself in that situation in the first place.
-
I know he isn't on the team anymore. But there has been a huge judgmental swath of opinions on his actions. So I wanted to post this from PFT.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/...s-to-the-field/
On Thursday night, Ravens receiver Donte' Stallworth played in an NFL game for the first time since the March 2009 accident that changed his life -- and ended the life of Mario Reyes, a 59-year-old Miami resident.
Stallworth caught one pass for 26 yards against the Panthers, and he's expected to make the Baltimore team and play an important role in the rotation.
A recent article from Les Carpenter of Yahoo! Sports suggests that Stallworth's return could have come a lot sooner, but for his decision to take full responsibility for the accident. Per Carpenter, Stallworth "ordered" his lawyers to accept a plea deal to felony DUI manslaughter despite evidence that easily created reasonable doubt as to whether Stallworth's legal intoxication actually "caused" Reyes' death. Put simply, Reyes was out of the crosswalk on a busy highway, and it's entirely possible that Stallworth would have struck and killed Reyes even if Stallworth had never consumed a drop of alcohol in his life.
Carpenter's article also hints at other unreleased evidence that would have helped Stallworth's case. Per Carpenter, Stallworth refused to permit the lawyers to do it.
But Stallworth didn't want Reyes' family to relive the incident in court. "He could have taken 15 different approaches," Stallworth friend Steve Boucher said. "He could have had people persuade him to take a more aggressive [defensive] position. He wouldn't do that. He took responsibility.
"His biggest concern was for the gentleman's daughter. He wanted [Reyes'] family to know he was remorseful."
Carpenter reports that Stallworth's lawyers repeatedly "shouted" at the 2002 first-round pick to fight the case.
The irony," lawyer David Cornwell told Carpenter, "is that a lot of the media and public was angry with the deal that he took. And the thing they wanted, for him to go to trial, was the thing he was trying to avoid for the family."
The anger came not from the deal itself, but from the apparent wrist slap Stallworth received; a brief jail term and a year of low-grade house arrest. But NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell ignored the lenient sentence and the evidence that pointed to a possible acquittal and focused on the end result -- a guilty plea to felony DUI manslaughter.
For that, Stallworth missed a full year of football.
But he's now free to play, and Stallworth shared with Carpenter the message that he's conveying to "anyone who will listen."
"Any little decision you make will have a subsequent reaction," Stallworth said. "Be cognizant of your decisions."
For Stallworth, two key decisions have shaped the past two years. The decision to drive drunk, and the decision to take full responsibility for a consequence that his drunk driving may not have actually caused.
So no matter how much you detest that he chose to drive drunk, and no matter how much you think rich athletes tend to get help that you and I would never get from the courts...
The truth is, he chose NOT get get that help, and go with the plea deal offered by the DA.
That's a stand up thing to do in light of the poor decision to get behind the wheel drunk.
I know he isn't on the team anymore. But there has been a huge judgmental swath of opinions on his actions. So I wanted to post this from PFT.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/...s-to-the-field/
So no matter how much you detest that he chose to drive drunk, and no matter how much you think rich athletes tend to get help that you and I would never get from the courts...
The truth is, he chose NOT get get that help, and go with the plea deal offered by the DA.
That's a stand up thing to do in light of the poor decision to get behind the wheel drunk.
ng
Sorry, but I don't give a fukc. The guy was legally drunk and driving and killed a man coming home after working a 3rd shift. I don't care how "considerate" he was by not doing this or that. The guy was legally intoxicated and killed a human being. He should be in jail and banned from the NFL, period.
-
I know he isn't on the team anymore. But there has been a huge judgmental swath of opinions on his actions. So I wanted to post this from PFT.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/...s-to-the-field/
So no matter how much you detest that he chose to drive drunk, and no matter how much you think rich athletes tend to get help that you and I would never get from the courts...
The truth is, he chose NOT get get that help, and go with the plea deal offered by the DA.
That's a stand up thing to do in light of the poor decision to get behind the wheel drunk.
ng
Sorry, but I don't give a fukc. The guy was legally drunk and driving and killed a man coming home after working a 3rd shift. I don't care how "considerate" he was by not doing this or that. The guy was legally intoxicated and killed a human being. He should be in jail and banned from the NFL, period.
ng
Sorry, but I don't give a fukc. The guy was legally drunk and driving and killed a man coming home after working a 3rd shift. I don't care how "considerate" he was by not doing this or that. The guy was legally intoxicated and killed a human being. He should be in jail and banned from the NFL, period.
Thats why we live in the USA, so you can have your opinion on the matter and be able to express it. Your hardline stance is endeared by many but absolutely not that all of the people completely informed of the case.
Is he a scumbag? Maybe, but all the post accident info points to someone a little less then the animal all expect of a person guilty of homicide. He's definately in the publics grace period for now, if he can truly change himself then only time will redeem and cleanse a portion of his 'legacy' as a person and a player.
Hello! It looks like you're interested in this conversation, but you don't have an account yet.
Getting fed up of having to scroll through the same posts each visit? When you register for an account, you'll always come back to exactly where you were before, and choose to be notified of new replies (either via email, or push notification). You'll also be able to save bookmarks and upvote posts to show your appreciation to other community members.
With your input, this post could be even better 💗
Register Login