Leonard Little issue

[Daseal]

Yeah, I couldn't ever forgive myself for killing someone, but what he blows DOES matter. If you blow a .01 by law the can give you a DUI. .01 you don't even feel and has absolutly no affect on your motor skills at all. Especially a man of his size.

Killing someone I can't ever forget, but our country is so strict when it comes to alcohol it's amazing. However, someone in Little's case can easily afford a cab ride home.

[Daseal]

Oh, by the way, it does not matter what his blood alchohol level was. If he is convicted of DWI, there will have to be convincing evidence introduced to show that he was over the legal limit in that area.

At least in Virginia the DUI law is ambigious and they can give you a DUI if you blow a .01 or above. How well it will stand up in court I don't know, but I know a girl that blew a .03 and they were able to give her a DUI offense. Now, she had a bad lawyer, but .03 is like 1/2 a beer.

I think that if he is guilty then there should be a severe backlash, but I'd like to know more about the case before I say exactly as to what.

[Norman_Einstein]

I don't understand why this guy's job has anything to do with it. Just put him in jail and the job thing works itself out. Just because a guy commits a crime, he can't make a living after the sentence is fulfilled?

[Ade Jimoh Fan Club]

I think we should be looking at it from a different angle -

I mean, (IF he is guilty) being banned from the NFL is a no brainer.

However, he should be playing butt-darts in prison for a good amount of time for being a 2d time offender on something this serious - and a dumbass.

It's time for the Pro Leagues to crack down on their criminals... it's getting out of hand...

[MTK]

To me, what he blows isn't the issue here. I'm just looking at the fact he got behind the wheel, again, after drinking. His behavior is just inexcusable considering he was responsible for killing someone previously.

[Daseal]

Jelli - I think a permenent ban from football is a bit of a stretch. He's made mistakes, and I think a year would be plenty to really send a message. If you truly are a friend of his, please talk to him. He'll need help right now. If he ever plans on going out, tell him to leave his car and grab a cab! Get a hotel room - he can afford it! Tell him to do anything but drive if at all possible. I think as fans we hate to see anything bad happen to these guys, especially the ones as talanted as Leonard.

[SKINSnCANES]

yea thats weird that you know him so well and want me banned, expecially if he doesnt drink that much and seems to have really bad luck with it. My best friend has a drinking problem and is a rock star, but i dont think he should have to end his career because of it. Granted hes never hurt anyone but still.

[Daseal]

Why should you have to be a "repeat offender" before you get punished? Is it any less wrong the first time?

EEich - I bet you've had a couple drinks and then driven before. You think they should lock you up and toss away the key? I don't. I think people make mistakes, and even one sip can get you a DUI if the cop wants to be an asshole. The sobriety test is absolutely ridiculous. Mainly the alphabet part. Give me a pen and paper sober and I can do the alphabet backwards. Otherwise it takes quite some time. I think that there should be a penelty for first offense (depending on the situation) but not one that cripples someone for life. Second offense maybe a little jail time for a wake up call.

[SKINSnCANES]

People drink and drive all the time. Its technically a mistake everytime, the majority of the time no one gets arrested or killed from it. Ive had some drinks and driven before, so im not going to sit here and say that im better than him. If he wanst a nfl player hed probably be spending 30-90 days in jail right now

[jellicoboy]

Maybe a ban is a little tough, But he apparently hasn't been humbled. I really dont want the man to lose his job but I want him to see what hes done and doing. And about the guy who is from Asheville, Leonard dates a cop from Asheville and I know he has never done crack. Where do people get this stuff?
D

[lifetimeskin]

once is a error in judgement, twice you are an idiot. He killed a person, it is not like he just got pulled over. He had all the resources in the world to help himself. I don't see how the justice system will go easy on him....if they do they will get "totaled" in the media!

For this guys own good, he need court mandated treatment either in the prison system or elsewhere.

[sportscurmudgeon]

lifetimeskin:

From what I read, he has already had "treatment" for the last several years.

At some point, the public - meaning you and me when we are walking down the street or driving our car to go and pick up some groceries - needs protection from people who drive drunk REPEATEDLY. As I said earlier on, if killing someone while driving drunk did not get the message through to this guy that this is "not a good thing to do", then I'm not sure how you are going to get that message through to him with any more treatment or counseling or self-esteem workshops. Next time he could run over a pregnant woman wheeling her twin boys in a stroller and kill them all. Wouldn't that be swell?

[BleedBurgundy]

I live in Italy where drunk driving is practically a national sport and we (the military community) are constantly seeing our young guys following suit. I've read several posts in this thread expressing the opinion that regardless of what he did, he has a right to make a living. That's true, but some of you may be interested to know that the military takes DUI/DWI so seriously that the first offense is often enough to end a persons career. The only way it doesn't is if the person in question is really young/new to the military. Then, they get dropped down in rank and put on restriction for 45 days with basically no paycheck. If you've been in the service for a while, one DUI/DWI and you're pretty much finished. The reason I'm saying all of this is that a person does have the right to make a living, but it doesn't necessarily have to be in the same line of work they are currently in. Especially if that line of work (NFL) is one with a high profile with a potentially great impact on others. (As a role model to kids, in this case.) I don't wish Little any harm, but I think his presence in the league is a disservice to the NFL's image and himself, as he can't seem to handle the lifestyle.

[sportscurmudgeon]

BleedBurgandy:

I am with you on this one. The current rage is to declare that someone's "right to earn a living" transcends everything else. It doesn't. If it did, then prison terms would be impossible because few if any people in their right mind would choose to earn their living as an "inmate".

Having spent considerable time in Italy, I understand the "DUI as a national sport" there. Alcohol is treated differently in Italy than it is here in the US. I remember walking up to a soda machine in Rome and one of the choices was Campari and soda. Imagine the furor here if someone tried to put a gin and tonic in a vending machine.

Stay safe...