Stallworth Suspended Indefinitely
UPDATED (9:29 p.m.)...
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has suspended Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte' Stallworth indefinitely without pay, the league has announced.
The suspension comes two days after Stallworth pleaded guilty to killing a pedestrian while driving drunk and was sentenced to 30 days in jail under a plea agreement with prosecutors. Under the terms of the plea deal, Stallworth's jail term is to be followed by 10 years of probation, the first two of which reportedly will be "community controlled" with restrictions on his ability to leave his home.
Goodell called Stallworth's conduct "inexcusable" in a letter to the wide receiver and suspended him under the NFL's personal conduct and substance abuse policies, according to the league's announcement.
Goodell prohibited Stallworth from visiting the Browns' training facility and barred him from all team-related activities pending a yet-to-be-scheduled meeting, after which Goodell will make a final decision about the length of Stallworth's suspension, the league announced.
"The conduct reflected in your guilty plea resulted in the tragic loss of life and was inexcusable," Goodell wrote to Stallworth, according to the league's announcement. "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.
"... The conduct that led to your conviction plainly violates both the Personal Conduct and Substances of Abuse policies. Either provides me with full authority to take appropriate disciplinary action against you, including a fine or suspension without pay, and to impose appropriate conditions on your continued participation in the NFL. In this case, there is ample evidence to warrant significant discipline under both policies."
Under the terms of his plea agreement, Stallworth also must undergo drug and alcohol testing, must perform 1,000 hours of community service and had his driving privileges suspended for life, according to reports.
Stallworth was charged with DUI manslaughter and faced a potential 15 years in prison if convicted. Stallworth's blood alcohol level reportedly was measured above the legal limit after his vehicle struck and killed 59-year-old crane operator Mario Reyes in March in Miami Beach.
Stallworth reportedly reached a financial settlement with Reyes's family to avoid a wrongful death lawsuit.
The Browns are scheduled to report to training camp on July 31.
"There is no reasonable dispute that your continued eligibility for participation at this time would undermine the integrity of and public confidence in our league," Goodell wrote to Stallworth, according to the NFL's announcement. "Accordingly, I have decided to suspend you indefinitely, effective immediately. 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.
"... Everyone associated with the league derives tremendous benefits from participating in our game and from the extraordinary support we receive from the public. With these benefits comes, among other things, the responsibility to conduct ourselves in a lawful and responsible way, with no entitlement to or expectation of favorable treatment."
David Cornwell, an attorney representing Stallworth, issued a written statement tonight in which he wrote: "Commissioner Goodell's interim decision to suspend Donte' Stallworth pending the Commissioner's review of the facts and circumstances in the criminal matter is the first step in the NFL disciplinary process.
"After reviewing the facts, Miami law enforcement personnel, Florida State Court Judge Dennis Murphy, Florida State Attorney, Katherine Rundle, the Miami/Dade County chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and, most importantly, Mr. Reyes' family concluded that the criminal process ended appropriately.
"State Attorney Rundle stated that given 'the unique facts involved... Mr. Stallworth's excellent pre-incident history of community service, abundant references that attest to his good character, his lack of any traffic violations or criminal convictions, his full and complete post-incident cooperation with law enforcement, and his willingness to accept complete responsibility for his actions... a just resolution of this case has been reached.'
"Commissioner Goodell has reserved a final decision. When he has the opportunity to review the 'unique facts involved,' including, specifically, the issue of causation as well as Donte's character and the manner in which Donte' accepted responsibility in the criminal and civil proceedings, we fully anticipate that the factors that supported the 'just resolution' of the criminal matter will be equally persuasive with Commissioner Goodell.
Consistent with the wishes of Mr. Reyes' family not to relive a tragedy through the public scrutiny of criminal and civil trials, we look forward to addressing these matters privately with Commissioner Goodell."
By
Mark Maske
|
June 18, 2009; 5:14 PM ET
| Category:
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Posted by: -CN- | June 24, 2009 1:33 PM
"In any case, I'm still missing some key facts. A BAC of 0.12 to 0.14 could be 3 sugar free mixed drinks, in which case, I am willing to consider the possibility that a young, healthy, professional athlete may still have exceptional driving capabilities."
Don't forget Donte is an athlete who weighs around 200lbs with low body fat and a faster metabolic rate, so it should take more alcohol to dillute his blood than your average guy. He would have needed to drink about 7 or 8 beers in an hour or about 4 to 5 mixed drinks to reach .126, using a BAC calculator. The sad truth is there is no way he should have been driving in his condition and a man lost his life. Whether there is a risk for a recidivism or not he should have been punished in accordance with the laws he violated. DUI manslaughter is a class 2 felony in Florida with a 15 year sentence and he got off easy. I'm sure house arrest in his deluxe apartment in the sky will be just awful but it is still a million times better than sharing a 5X10 with Bubba.
Posted by: ozpunk | June 21, 2009 12:21 PM
Life time ban from the NFL,and nothing less!!!!What an absolute travesty of justice !!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: votingrevolution | June 20, 2009 5:14 PM
The 5 legal reasons for punishment (not in any particular order).
1. Protect community from future criminal conduct;
2. Deter offender from repeat offense;
3. Deter others from committing the same offense;
4. Vindication; and
5. Rehabilitate the offender.
Stallworth's cooperation, self-inflicted financial punishment, candor, lack of malice, and lack of criminal background have been compelling reasons for a lenient sentence. Seems like he did everything he can to save his own butt and its working for him.
Although lets be clear, 10 years of probation is a very long time. The meanest probation officers can make life very difficult. Violating probation is easy to do and can lead right back to jail or even prison. In other words, this is only the beginning of a very long relationship with the criminal justice system for Stallworth and its not clear how he will fare.
In any case, I'm still missing some key facts. A BAC of 0.12 to 0.14 could be 3 sugar free mixed drinks, in which case, I am willing to consider the possibility that a young, healthy, professional athlete may still have exceptional driving capabilities.
But, a BAC of 0.12 to 0.14 could be 10 budlights and that young, rich athlete could be talking on the phone, watching a dvd, exhausted at 7 am, swerving, lethargic and in which case, I am willing to consider that he was recklessly out of control and needs a long timeout before he kills again.
I want to know how long he had to react.
Drunk or not, if he had a split second to react, he shouldn't be guilty of anything more than a DUI. Did the guy pop out from between two parked cars? Or did Donte have 10 seconds to react but was too drunk to notice?
Without knowing the answers to these questions, I can only say that he got a light sentence for the actual charge, but who knows if the charge would have stuck at trial.
Posted by: rolotamassy | June 19, 2009 11:18 PM
Translation: I was afraid to prosecute a famous person.
Posted by: Justlistening | June 19, 2009 11:16 AM
or Stallworth paid them off!
Posted by: mburns134 | June 19, 2009 11:32 AM
State Attorney Rundle stated that given 'the unique facts involved... Mr. Stallworth's excellent pre-incident history of community service, abundant references that attest to his good character, his lack of any traffic violations or criminal convictions, his full and complete post-incident cooperation with law enforcement, and his willingness to accept complete responsibility for his actions... a just resolution of this case has been reached.
Translation: I was afraid to prosecute a famous person.
Posted by: Justlistening | June 19, 2009 11:16 AM
I cannot believe he received a shorter prison sentence than Michael Vick. I like dogs but Stallworth killed a human being. If he also gets a lesser penalty by the NFL, this will be a true travesty!!!
Posted by: mburns134 | June 19, 2009 10:50 AM
Wow, good call from the commish.
Posted by: ozpunk | June 18, 2009 9:44 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.
thanks for the update, mark.
I am surprised at his jail sentence, but I'm sure the out-of-court settlement and his legal team helped shorten the sentence a bit