By Scott Daniels, Esq., NFL Draft Bible
10. Bryant McNeal
McNeal was arrested on July 5, 2007 for a routine traffic stop. Police discovered that he had an outstanding warrant in Florida for defrauding a pawn broker and writing a bad check for $1,500. To make matters worse, he was driving with a suspended license and a busted headlight. Case is pending.
9. Justin Miller
Miller was arrested and charged with Assault on May 20, 2007. Miller allegedly hit a woman after he took a swing at a man who ducked inside a New York Nightclub.
8. Lionel Gates
Gates punched a pregnant woman in the face and was initially charged with felony battery in March of 2007. That was later dropped and he paid a $3,200 fine and had to attend anger management.
7. Lawrence Tynes
Tynes was arrested and charged with felony battery after he allegedly broke a bouncer's nose in a bar fight in August of 2005. Who said kickers were soft?
6. David Boston
Boston was arrested in October of 2005 after he struck a gate agent at a Vermont Airport when he was not allowed to board a flight. Boston pleaded no contest and paid a $500 fine.
5. Tommy Hendricks
Hendricks was arrested and charged with violating a restraining order filed by his ex wife. Hendricks was cut shortly after this incident.
4. Quintin Williams
Williams was arrested in 2005 and charged with a DUI and dragracing near the Miami Dolphins training facility. Williams was clocked at 111 mph. He pleaded down to reckless driving and receivedsix months probation. He was also cut from the Dolphins a day later.
3. Daunte Culpepper, Fred Smoot, Bryant McKinnie, Moe Williams
Following a night partying on cruise boat in 2005, these four men were charged with indecent conduct, disorderly conduct and lewd or lascivious conduct. The complaint alleged, among others, sex toy usage, topless lap dancing, public sex, etc. McKinnie and Smoot pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, fined one game check by the NFL and given 48 hours community service.
2. AJ Nicholson
In June of 2006, Nicholson was arrested for burglarizing the apartment of a former teammate at Florida State. Nicholson pleaded no contest and received two years probation.
1. Michael Vick
Dogfighting. Enough said.
Showing posts with label football lawyers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label football lawyers. Show all posts
Friday, October 12, 2007
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
THE FINE HEARD ROUND THE WORLD
By Scott Daniels, Esq., NFL Draft Bible
During last year's Superbowl media frenzy, Brian Urlacher waltzed up to a podium for an ordinary press conference. Since Urlacher and his Chicago Bears team were practicing throughout media week at the Superbowl, it was only natural that he refresh himself with a cool beverage in between practices. Urlacher also exchanged that helmet of his for a cap he owned. The cap he donned was a Vitamin Water cap and the beverage was the same. This is what the NFL would call a "fashion no-no."
Unlike Gatorade, Burger King, Snickers, Pepsi, Samsung, Visa, etc., Vitamin Water is not an official sponsor of the NFL. Therefore, it has no place on the NFL stage and other corporate sponsors stand to lose millions when players sport other logos. OK, understandable. Players cannot wear unofficially licensed gear at NFL events. A simple warning sounds reasonable. Maybe a small fine would be legitimate.
The NFL took a slightly different route. Roger Goodell decided that Mr. Urlacher's actions were the equivalent of a hundred times the amount that Justin Smith, defensive end for the Cincinnati Bengals, received for pleading guilty to a DUI in 2004.
Urlacher was slammed with a $100,000 fine for wearing the Vitamin Water hat and players must now think twice before attending a certified NFL event in that Gucci leisure suit. From a logical standpoint, wearing an unofficially licensed article of clothing doesn't even compare to a criminal offense. Urlacher most likely wore the hat to freely advertise the drink during media week, but to fine him 100K - that's not justice, it's first degree robbery.
Seriously though, when a player acts outside of the interests of the league, or commits a crime that would tarnish the league's image, fines are an easy way to punish offenders. Everyone knows that most fines are insignificant to players that rake in millions each year, but the fine still has to be justified. How does the NFL justify a $100,000 fine on Urlacher for wearing an unofficially licensed hat? Simple. They can't.
Urlacher wore the hat in a press conference during media week of the Superbowl. So yes, the spotlight is a bit brighter during the Superbowl. However, by hitting Urlacher with a major fine that hit news wires immediately and become a relatively large story, Vitamin Water got an enormous amount of publicity. The NFL actually bolstered Urlacher's original intention - to get Vitamin Water some face-time during the Superbowl!
The NFL today is a business. Corporate sponsors run the show and money is the only thing that talks. Original named stadiums are almost extinct and have been replaced by the likes of Gillette Stadium, Lincoln Financial Field, Bank of America Stadium and Monster Park (this one sounds more like an amusement park than a stadium). The fine that Urlacher received was completely ridiculous. Players should be fined that amount when violating the law, not for violating some NFL bylaw inspired by huge conglomerates.
NFL players, I leave you with one piece of legal advice - to protect your hard earned assets, lose the Prada shades in the post game press conference. Start banking with Bank of America instead of Chase. Fly Southwest because we all know Delta isn't official. Trade in that LG for a Samsung and leave that American Express at home, the NFL only accepts VISA. If it's a Coke that you crave, make it a Pepsi and please, whatever you do, trade in that BMW for a General Motors vehicle, just to be safe.
During last year's Superbowl media frenzy, Brian Urlacher waltzed up to a podium for an ordinary press conference. Since Urlacher and his Chicago Bears team were practicing throughout media week at the Superbowl, it was only natural that he refresh himself with a cool beverage in between practices. Urlacher also exchanged that helmet of his for a cap he owned. The cap he donned was a Vitamin Water cap and the beverage was the same. This is what the NFL would call a "fashion no-no."
Unlike Gatorade, Burger King, Snickers, Pepsi, Samsung, Visa, etc., Vitamin Water is not an official sponsor of the NFL. Therefore, it has no place on the NFL stage and other corporate sponsors stand to lose millions when players sport other logos. OK, understandable. Players cannot wear unofficially licensed gear at NFL events. A simple warning sounds reasonable. Maybe a small fine would be legitimate.
The NFL took a slightly different route. Roger Goodell decided that Mr. Urlacher's actions were the equivalent of a hundred times the amount that Justin Smith, defensive end for the Cincinnati Bengals, received for pleading guilty to a DUI in 2004.
Urlacher was slammed with a $100,000 fine for wearing the Vitamin Water hat and players must now think twice before attending a certified NFL event in that Gucci leisure suit. From a logical standpoint, wearing an unofficially licensed article of clothing doesn't even compare to a criminal offense. Urlacher most likely wore the hat to freely advertise the drink during media week, but to fine him 100K - that's not justice, it's first degree robbery.
Seriously though, when a player acts outside of the interests of the league, or commits a crime that would tarnish the league's image, fines are an easy way to punish offenders. Everyone knows that most fines are insignificant to players that rake in millions each year, but the fine still has to be justified. How does the NFL justify a $100,000 fine on Urlacher for wearing an unofficially licensed hat? Simple. They can't.
Urlacher wore the hat in a press conference during media week of the Superbowl. So yes, the spotlight is a bit brighter during the Superbowl. However, by hitting Urlacher with a major fine that hit news wires immediately and become a relatively large story, Vitamin Water got an enormous amount of publicity. The NFL actually bolstered Urlacher's original intention - to get Vitamin Water some face-time during the Superbowl!
The NFL today is a business. Corporate sponsors run the show and money is the only thing that talks. Original named stadiums are almost extinct and have been replaced by the likes of Gillette Stadium, Lincoln Financial Field, Bank of America Stadium and Monster Park (this one sounds more like an amusement park than a stadium). The fine that Urlacher received was completely ridiculous. Players should be fined that amount when violating the law, not for violating some NFL bylaw inspired by huge conglomerates.
NFL players, I leave you with one piece of legal advice - to protect your hard earned assets, lose the Prada shades in the post game press conference. Start banking with Bank of America instead of Chase. Fly Southwest because we all know Delta isn't official. Trade in that LG for a Samsung and leave that American Express at home, the NFL only accepts VISA. If it's a Coke that you crave, make it a Pepsi and please, whatever you do, trade in that BMW for a General Motors vehicle, just to be safe.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
