Donte Stallworth, who recently served 30 days for DUI Manslaughter, was suspended indefinitely from the NFL and now will not be receiving pay for the 2009 season. The call was made as the league stated that the player violated the NFL’s personal conduct policy and its substance abuse policy.
His case stems back to March 14 when he hit and killed a man, Mario Reyes, with his car as he was driving under the influence in Miami. In terms of his return to the field, the league has stated that he should be reinstated in February 2010 after the Super Bowl.
Stallworth should be content with the suspension as the manslaughter case has caught some convicts with 10 years. His punishment may not be over, however, as NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell believes that the man should have more consequences for his actions along with what was given to him from the court system. In regards to Goodell’s statement, Stallworth is willing to deal with whatever other actions the Commissioner decides to take as he recognizes the damage his action had done for his career as well as the image of the NFL.
The actual case of Stallworth is simple: After drinking at a bar in Miami Beach he decided to get behind the wheel. Although he stated to authorities that he flashed his lights to warn Reyes, it must have been unsuccessful as the man was killed after being hit. Ever heard of a horn or the thing called brakes that stop the car?
To make matters worse a blood-alcohol level of .126 was taken from Stallworth as .08 is the limit in Florida. He only served 24 of the 30 days and reached a financial agreement with the family of Reyes. His sentence also finds the man under two years of house arrest, eight years of probation and other restrictions.
Vick gets 2 years for his incident with dogs and Stallworth gets 24 days for drunken murder. Yeah Stallworth it might be necessary to just hold it down on the sidelines and be thankful.
