Pruitt Arrested

[crownsy]

The 22-year-old Pruitt said in a statement issued Thursday by the Celtics that he "used poor judgment" and is "really disappointed" in himself.
...
Pruitt's statement said "I made a mistake and I have learned a valuable lesson."

you think all the teams in the league keep pre-typed statements of regret on file or does some poor intern have to type one everytime?

regardless, let's move on, hope this isn't a deciding factor in his future here, but if it is i can't blame them.

[LB3533]

People have already mentioned Malik Sealy's death caused by a drunk driver.

Just posting other examples of wreckless driving, where you don't even need to be under alcoholic or drug influence to be impaired or be a danger.

People really need to take this kind of stuff seriously.

--- " Charlotte Hornets' Bobby Phills Killed In Car Crash " --- (drag racing with then Hornet's teammate David Wesley)"...Police said Phills, who was driving a black Porsche, was speeding when he lost control of his car, crossed into oncoming traffic and collided into another car, which was driven by Robert Woolard, 31, the Chicago SunTimes reported. Woolard's car then was rear-ended by a minivan taxi driven by Yao Agbegbon, 33..."

--- "...In May [1999], Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Steve Chiasson was killed after he lost control of his pickup truck in Raleigh. Tests showed he was legally drunk..."

--- "...In October [1999], Hornets' Eldridge Recasner suffered a partially collapsed lung and a broken shoulder after teammate Derrick Coleman, who was driving the vehicle in which Recasner was a passenger, collided with a tractor-trailer. Coleman was arrested on a drunken driving charge..."

--- "...There will be no going home from prison for actor Lane Garrison this time if a director yells "Cut!" The 27-year-old actor has been sentenced to three years and four months of jail time [half of possible maximum] yesterday for an auto accident that killed a 17-year old student, according to Reuters.

The former Prison Break actor pleaded guilty to manslaughter in May, after crashing his Land Rover into a tree while under the influence of alcohol and cocaine in December. Two 15-year-old girls were also in the car. They all met Garrison as he was on his way to a party..."

Driving under the influence or driving recklessly is serious business.

I am a big opponent of NASCAR...hate what it stands for and hate that it is considered a sport. NASCAR sends the wrong message.

People really do need to take this topic seriously and not with a whim or grain of salt.

[SalmonAndMashedPotatoes]

According to the report I heard, he failed the field sobriety test and also had a blood alcohol content "well above the legal limit".

It doesn't sound good.

If he failed the sobriety test, then he's in trouble.  This probably means he was tanked.  You can pass a sobriety test after a few beers or with a good buzz, but if you're tanked, you aren't passing one of those and you need to be tanked to fail one of them.  All you do is walk a straight line heel to toe and stand up on one foot and count.  Was it a dumb idea for him?  Probably, but to be honest, I'm more worried about how he plays on the court.  I could really care less about a player's personal life, unless it's affecting his play.  

Just to clarify the above statement a bit: it's pretty easy to fail a roadside sobriety test depending on the disposition of the attending officer and what time of day it is.  I was pulled over a 2 a.m., hadn't been drinking, failed the sobriety test (because the cop was being a punk--no surprise there), and then 25 minutes later passed the breathalizer with flying colors.  So, it can happen.

Apparently, at least if the reports are true, Gabe later failed the breathalizer test back at the station.  So, his goose is probably cooked as far as being guilty...even though everyone's innocent before being proved guilty.

One more thing: we have a pretty good consensus here on the board that drunk driving or "buzzed" driving is bad.  Pretty hard to argue that it isn't.  You never want to fool around behind the wheel, because you put everybody else at risk.  That said, I think some are over-reacting to just how bad drunk driving is and, consequently, are jumping to some pretty drastic, incorrect conclusions...people making comments like it shows he has bad character, or that he should rot in jail, or that lots of people never make mistakes like this, or that I drank all the time in college but never drove drunk, etc...  Really, you do need to get down from the high horse a little. 

Let me give you an analogy here to make my point:  the degree to which an intoxicated person's reaction time is slowed down by alcohol is EQUIVALENT to the degree to which a non-intoxicated person's reaction time is slowed down....when they're talking on a cell phone (hand-held or wireless).  So, everybody out there who's ever talked on a cell phone while driving has put his or her fellow drivers at as much risk as Gabe did while allegedly driving drunk.  So, it terms of potential harm caused, I think we all should take a step down from our high horses and stop making these black-and-white declarations of good and evil and realize that life is made up of infinite shades of grey.  Gabe made a mistake.  And so has everyone at Celticsblog.  Get over it.

[Roy Hobbs]

So, everybody out there who's ever talked on a cell phone while driving has put his or her fellow drivers at as much as Gabe did while allegedly driving drunk. 

That's a pretty ignorant and inaccurate statement, without knowing the level of impairment.

[Andy Jick]

i guess some feel as long as pruitt wears a celtics jersey it's okay and easily forgivable...

...but our neighbor who works part-time at mcdonald's does this and we want him locked up because he could be a tragedy waiting to happen.

love the double-standard that athletes get...

[Mr October]

The DUI is a disappointment. He should be fined, disciplined by the team. Other than that, it was just a dumb mistake by a 22 year old kid in his home town.

Heck even Larry Bird was known for having 'a few' drinks in his day. Moving on.

[jdpapa3]

i guess some feel as long as pruitt wears a celtics jersey it's okay and easily forgivable...

...but our neighbor who works part-time at mcdonald's does this and we want him locked up because he could be a tragedy waiting to happen.

love the double-standard that athletes get...

Way to just add in your own theories. I had the same reaction when JJ Redick did this and I hate JJ. And my neighbor. What I don't have respect for is if someone makes the same mistake twice.

And by the way, Salmon and Mashed, I loved that line you had in there about shades of grey and how it's not a black and white world. I'm not wasting money on a cab if my level is .09. OH yeah, and a cab back to get your car in the morning.

[EJPLAYA]

Everyone is over reacting to this incident. Statistics show that one out of every ten highway drivers is impaired after midnight, and this statistic is likely on the conservative side. I'm not condoning drunk driving. However, I don't understand why Pruitt is being crucified for something that many Americans do every day. Everyone makes mistakes, and Pruitt made an easily forgivable mistake.

I am going to sound like my mother when I say this, but if everyone jumped off a bridge should you do it too?! Show me statistics on any crime and you can make the same pointless argument. The problem here is that he didn't go in and shoplift, or go 5 over the speed limit, or something minor. He willfully chose to put others lives in danger and those of us who have children in our cars out on the road are expected to just say "No big deal. He didn't kill anyone this time. Everyone is doing it..."

Pruitt is getting crucified on this board because it is Celticsblog. Show me the blogs of these 1 in 10 people and I will go in and crucify them too. Since from those statistics 90% of the people AREN'T going out and driving drunk, it baffles me why more of them aren't going ballistic over it. People have NO RIGHT to make choices with my or my families life just so they aren't inconvenienced. I think they should take every drunk drivers license away for a year on offense #1, and offense #2 it would be mandatory jail time and permanent license removal. It is that serious.

[KungPoweChicken]

i guess some feel as long as pruitt wears a celtics jersey it's okay and easily forgivable...

...but our neighbor who works part-time at mcdonald's does this and we want him locked up because he could be a tragedy waiting to happen.

love the double-standard that athletes get...

The hypocrisy on this board is astounding. Statistics tell us that a good portion of adults have driven drunk in their lives. So where are all these people on celticsblog? Apparently everyone here is a saint who has never operated an auto mobile over the legal limit. Everyone is quick to throw someone under a bus. However, if you were in Gabe's situation you probably would have done the same thing. Statistics tell us that this is the truth. It is easy to sit at a distance and criticize someone for some wrong they have done. Any fool can criticize and most fools do.  

[EJPLAYA]

i guess some feel as long as pruitt wears a celtics jersey it's okay and easily forgivable...

...but our neighbor who works part-time at mcdonald's does this and we want him locked up because he could be a tragedy waiting to happen.

love the double-standard that athletes get...

Way to just add in your own theories. I had the same reaction when JJ Redick did this and I hate JJ. And my neighbor. What I don't have respect for is if someone makes the same mistake twice.
And by the way, Salmon and Mashed, I loved that line you had in there about shades of grey and how it's not a black and white world. I'm not wasting money on a cab if my level is .09. OH yeah, and a cab back to get your car in the morning.

A little clarification please. You have stated multiple times on here that you do this frequently. Are you into self-loathing or something? If not, how do you judge others' second offense when you do it all the time per your own statements?!

[MBz]

i guess some feel as long as pruitt wears a celtics jersey it's okay and easily forgivable...

...but our neighbor who works part-time at mcdonald's does this and we want him locked up because he could be a tragedy waiting to happen.

love the double-standard that athletes get...

Right, but I think a lot of people who are getting on Pruitt have a double-standard within athletes as well.  No one would complain if this happened to Pierce in my opinion.  Since this is a bench player who rarely plays people are getting on him.  If this was Pierce, people would be semi-concerned, but be saying "I'm worried about what he does on the court, not in his freetime."

[Roy Hobbs]

However, if you were in Gabe's situation you probably would have done the same thing. Statistics tell us that this is the truth.

Where are those statistics?  10% of drivers post-midnight are impaired, according to you.  How does that suggest that the majority of Celticsbloggers, or whoever the "you" you were referring to was, drive impaired?

[SalmonAndMashedPotatoes]

So, everybody out there who's ever talked on a cell phone while driving has put his or her fellow drivers at as much risk as Gabe did while allegedly driving drunk. 

That's a pretty ignorant and inaccurate statement, without knowing the level of impairment.

Well, your statement is also a pretty ignorant and inaccurate without knowing the particulars of the cell phone conversation.  

The point is: talking on your cell phone while driving is as dangerous as driving intoxicated.  While we roast Gabe for his mistake, it's good to remember that the level of potential harm he brought about while allegedly driving drunk is EQUIVALENT to something that most people do ALL THE TIME.  

[fairweatherfan]

Let me give you an analogy here to make my point:  the degree to which an intoxicated person's reaction time is slowed down by alcohol is EQUIVALENT to the degree to which a non-intoxicated person's reaction time is slowed down....when they're talking on a cell phone (hand-held or wireless).  So, everybody out there who's ever talked on a cell phone while driving has put his or her fellow drivers at as much as Gabe did while allegedly driving drunk.  So, it terms of potential harm caused, I think we all should take a step down from our high horses and stop making these black-and-white declarations of good and evil and realize that life is made up of infinite shades of grey.  Gabe made a mistake.  And so has everyone at Celticsblog.  Get over it.

I've cited this study myself in response to what I saw as some overreaction on the earlier DWI thread, but there's two key differences: it's equal only at the lowest levels of illegal impairment, and you can turn a cell phone off.  It's true that DWI for whatever reason brings out the Puritan in a lot of people that just shrug at other things that equally impair drivers, but it's still a mistake to do it.  I've been in enough near-accidents with people yapping on their cells (I shut my cell off while driving) to know that if drunk people are at least that impaired, it's not a good idea to drive in that state.  

And I see more people criticizing folks for "crucifying" Gabe than I actually see doing it.  Most people, including me, are just saying it's a stupid move, which it is, that's easily avoidable for a rich athlete, which it is, but very few are going any further than that.

The hypocrisy on this board is astounding. Statistics tell us that a good portion of adults have driven drunk in their lives. So where are all these people on celticsblog? Everyone here is apparently a saint who has never operated an auto mobile over the legal limit. Everyone is quick to throw someone under a bus. However, if you were in Gabe's situation you probably would have done the same thing. Statistics tell us that this is the truth. It is easy to sit at a distance and criticize someone for some wrong they have done. Any fool can criticize and most fools do.  

Go back and check the DUI thread - most people here, including me, admit to having done it at some point, and no one's denying that now. The fact that lots of people have done something foolish doesn't make it less foolish, just more typical.  And again, these "high horse" folks are by far the minority of those criticizing Pruitt.  I think it's a mistake that he should have some moderate but substantial penalty for and then be allowed to move on.  I think most posters here would agree with that.  You are attacking a straw man at this point.

[EJPLAYA]

However, if you were in Gabe's situation you probably would have done the same thing. Statistics tell us that this is the truth.

Where are those statistics?  10% of drivers post-midnight are impaired, according to you.  How does that suggest that the majority of Celticsbloggers, or whoever the "you" you were referring to was, drive impaired?

Agreed. I would argue that most people aren't driving around after midnight. They have jobs the next morning. Families to take care of. I love it when people with bad behavior try to lump everyone else in there with them to justify their own behavior. There is a reason that the majority on here are commenting the way they are. You're on your own for the most part man. There really AREN'T that many people out there doing what you are doing. If you want to feel part of "the group" try doing the right thing and stay off the roads if you're drinking. Don't be forced to learn the hard way.