DUI: The Thing To Do?

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa was arrested Thursday on a drunken driving charge after police said they found him asleep inside his running sport utility vehicle at a stop light. Click here to view the Sheriff’s Booking Report. Undercover officers saw La Russa's SUV sitting partially in an intersection around midnight and not moving despite two green lights, police said. Officers knocked on the window and La Russa did not initially respond. The SUV was in drive and running, with La Russa's foot on the brake, police said. When he woke up, the officers asked him to get out of the SUV. La Russa was cooperative during his arrest, police said. La Russa gave two breath samples and had a blood alcohol content of 0.093 percent, Jupiter police said in a statement. Florida's legal driving limit is 0.08 percent. La Russa declined to comment while he was outside the clubhouse in uniform hours later at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, where he planned to manage a spring training game against the Marlins. La Russa walked onto the field before the game, many fans stood and applauded.

There’s where my problem begins. What are these people applauding for exactly? Credit is to be given to a player or manager when they do something worthy, right? How is it that in today’s society, getting a DUI & still managing to keep your job is applause worthy, or worse yet, simply the norm.

To make matters worse, about 5 minutes after I read a few articles about La Russa, I see that also just lastnight, Vivica A. Fox was busted for a DUI as well! Her career will probably seriously take off now…


So I’m wondering, is going to rehab or being arrested for DUI the ‘thing to do’? Think of all the household names you know that you’ve heard were arrested & felt no sense of surprise whatsoever. Here’s the one’s I came up with:
Mel Gibson, Robert Downey Jr., Paris Hilton, Nicole Ritchie, Tracy Morgan (twice), Mike Tyson, George Michael, Nick Nolte, & Diana Ross

Now think of the ones you heard about that you were truly shocked to learn of:
Ray Liotta (okay, so maybe he should have been on the previous list), Anneliese van der Pol (the lil girl from That’s So Raven), Rip Torn (he seems only crazy, not drunk & crazy), Haley Joel Osment (when did he even get old enough for a license?), John Michael Montgomery & Mindy McCready (the country stars always shock me), Tracey Gold & Michelle Rodriguez (both seemed so innocent), Lane Garrison (A semi newer actor from Prison Break who’s DUI crash killed a 17 year old boy who was excited to have even met him.)

But back to La Russa. I’ve always had a soft spot for the guy. He’s a ledgend in his own time & responsible for pulling teams together & winning multiple championships. How is this hugely egotistical man going to stay the same leader now? Professional athletes being arrested often ignite harsh public outcry, & those involved have to face such scrutiny afterward. Could you imagine being busted & having to go out & play a nationally televised event the next day! Do these guys feel shame when they see little kids wearing their jerseys who are so disappointment at finding out their hero is a criminal? Or does the remorse only set in after they get traded & their lifestyle is a bit uprooted. I wish I could ask some of the one’s I could remember from the not so recent past who’ve gotten popped:

NHL –
Hurricanes Jeff O’Neill
Sharks - Mark Bell
Panthers Peter Worrell
Blackhawks Captain Alex Zhamnov

NBA –
Magics JJ Redick
Kings Coach Eric Musselman
Suns Stephon Marbury

MLB -
A’s Esteban Loaiza
Marlin’s Dontrelle Willis
BJ’s Gustavo Chacin

NFL -
Titans Steve McNair
Raiders Sebastian Janikowski
Seahawks Jarramy Stevens
Niners Antonio Bryant
& pretty much all of the Cincinatti Bengals –
Marvin Lewis, the coach of the Cincinnati Bengals, has reportedly attempted to stop the dramatic series of player arrests by flashing police mug shots of NFL players who have been arrested and bringing in police to teach a "DUI 101" class to the players. Most of the players arrested were team rookies. Johnathan Joseph was the ninth player to be arrested, while other rookies Odell Thurman, Frostee Rucker, A.J. Nicholson, and Reggie McNeil have been arrested for everything from DUI to domestic violence. After the team's ninth arrest, Jay Leno remarked on his Tonight Show monologue, "Know what the Cincinnati Bengals call sign on bonuses? Bail money." While the Bengals have the largest number of player arrests of any NFL team, a total of 35 NFL players were arrested in 2006 for a wide variety of offenses.

MLS -
Now I don’t know much about soccer (yet), but THERE IS A WEBSITE THAT GIVES ODDS ON THE FUTURE DUI ARREST OF DAVID BECKHAM!!!
Intertops.com, a Caribbean-based sports gambling site, has posted 10 to 1 odds that the former soccer star will get a DUI after he moves to the United States. Beckham is married to former Spice Girl "Posh Spice" (Victoria Beckham), now a clothing designer, and the couple will be moving to the U.S. after David signed a multi-million dollar soccer deal with the Los Angeles Galaxy. Interops.com has also issues odds (10,000 to 1) that Beckham with divorce "Posh" to marry Paris Hilton in 2007. Hilton recently accepted a plea deal with three years probation for a DUI last September.

I suppose celebrities & sports personalities are truly no different than you & I. I do, in fact, know a few people close to me who’ve had to face this embarrassment & I seriously have no idea how they would have dealt with it being broadcast throughout tarnation. But somehow I sense that because all these persona’s arrests are so widely publicized, everyday people like us seem to become accustomed to thinking this behavior is okay. Now I’m not going to deny that I’ve ever been behind the wheel with a bit of a buzz on, but I certainly wouldn’t expect anyone to encourage my behavior had I been caught. And I try to be a good advocate of sober driving only whenever I can. But I seem to be chastising loved ones constantly after discovering that they’ve done it yet again. And knowing they do (& I have) and doing the job I do makes me feel like a hypocrite. I don’t like feeling like a hypocrite so please, if you’re a friend or fan of mine, don’t put me in that position. And if you can’t seem to control yourself, do the rest of the world a favor & sign up below:



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