True. I personally don’t want to go too over the top because we’ve all done stupid stuff. That said, I thought either the individual Teams or the NFL had some program where they give you a ride in situations like this?
Being a talented athlete doesn't do much to make you smarter. Having money doesn't help either. Way too often, they think they can just "do it," because in the past, people turned a blind eye to their misadventures. When you get to the city, they ain't so forgiving. They slap the cuffs on ya.
I remember stopping a famous athlete for driving while impaired. When I asked him to get out of the car to do the sobriety test, he told me he didn't have to, because he was "name" and a key player for "team," and I should call them and they could straighten it all out, and I wouldn't be in any trouble over it. I just laughed, and told him again to get out of the car to take the test. He refused. So, I called my shift commander, and we got two additional officers there, so we could get this behemoth out of the car. Once he was out, he cooperated, and couldn't take two steps without falling down. He blew .18, so he was flat-a drunk.
The cuffs wouldn't fit around is wrist, so I had to get him to promise to behave in the back of my car. I took him in, and booked him. Surprisingly, the next day, when the arrest reports were released to the press, his name didn't appear. It had "accidentally" been left off the report.
Before I went to court on it, I was contacted by the States Attorney's office, and told that I wouldn't have to show in court because it was being taken care of. I told him I was going anyway, because it was on the docket. He then told me; "I'm telling you to stay home." I told him I was going to court and reporting the call to the judge.
I won't go into the details, but when I found it wasn't on the docket, I spoke up in court and asked why. I was told that we could discuss it after court was over. I told the judge that it had to be on the docket, because I had a copy of the arrest in my hand. We exchanged a few words, and I was charged with contempt for arguing with the judge, and held over until court was over. At that point, the judge talked to me in chambers and told me that it was all resolved, and as long as I went back to work and forgot about the incident everything would be fine.
I went back to the station, and talked to the shift commander. He told me to just "go along with it." So, I went into the squad room, and sat in front of a typewriter, and typed out my resignation for two weeks later. Less than two months after that, I was on a high volume Sheriff's department in California. The law is the law, and the BS of these people having "entitlement" isn't acceptable in my world.
What surprised me is that an athlete got off in an offense like that, while a ticket I wrote for the Governor's daughter went through, and she paid the fine and apologized in court. It's a strange world out there.