Fox Sports is reporting that Michigan running back Kevin Grady has pleaded not guilty to the charge of drunk driving. Obviously Grady will not be attending Michigan Law School anytime soon. How gusty, ahem, stupid, is this? Never mind the fact that you blew a .287 blood alcohol level, which is more than three times the legal limit. Never mind the fact that your mug shot looks like you are about to slip into an alcoholic coma. Grady must have one hell of a legal team to plead not guilty...oh wait, he hasn't even hired an attorney yet, I suspect a guilty plea might be coming once that is done.
This not guilty plea just escalates this whole entire situation. First, it was an incredibly idiotic decision to get behind the wheel that night. But now, to have the nerve to say, "I didn't do it"? This demonstrates that Grady has no remorse for what he did, he is not even taking responsibility for his actions, and it shows a lack of maturity. If he took the guilty plea, took his medicine, and worked his ass off, Americans have shown in the past that they are willing to forgive someone for making a mistake, to give them a second chance.
Oh the media would have loved it, a college kid who makes a major mistake but learns from it only to become a better person. I can already see the piece on ESPN's College Game Day, maybe even Desmond Howard conducting the interview.
But now? Forget it. It is time to cut the tie with Kevin Grady, at least when it comes to playing football for Michigan. Allow Grady to stay in school and finish his degree, but he should never play another down for Michigan. I can accept a young man making a mistake, even one of this size. But, with the right punishment (a lengthy suspension from the team, community service) I would have welcomed Grady back to the team, but not any more. Not with this scoff to the legal system, further embarrassing the university.
Now the burden falls on RichRod. This isn't West Virginia Rich. The higher ups here at Michigan don't like off the field troubles, and they expect these things to be dealt with swiftly, and not simply swept under the rug like Ohio State. Rich has to throw Grady off the team now. He cannot allow for Grady to stay on the team, he has to send a message to the rest of the team, Lloyd may be gone but the standards he set will continue to be up held. And that brings up another issue with the fans. Michigan supporters have been so quick to blast Ohio State for every issue that has come up with Tressel and his players. Now I hear some fans saying that Grady is just a kid who made a bad decision. How quickly things change.
Rich, it's time to make the right decision because clearly Grady didn't.
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8 comments:
I'm going to disagree with you, only because no one should EVER plead guilty to a crime before consulting with a lawyer first. Plead guilty, Kevin but you did the right thing by waiting until you had an attorney lined up and working out the deal with the DA's office.
I feel like an only child in the middle of an ugly divorce. Can't Mom and Dad just be civil with each other?
I just want to say that the only silver lining in all this is the fact that Kelvin Grady is seeing this first hand, and one would think the chances of him making similar mistakes would be very slim. For the sake of the UM Bball program, I hope this is the case.
Censorship of blog posts? not cool. Let the people speak their minds!
tony like andrew said any lawyer will tell you that you always plead NOT GUILTY. It's not saying you didn't do it it just buys you time to reduce your punishment. Pleading guilty just ensures you will get the punishment quickly. Not guilty means he will probably get a reduced sentence later in the case.
oh and throwing him off the team is absolutely ridiculous! Yeah he made a mistake, a big one...but he already has to face whatever government charge he'll have to face a suspension for what he did. But this was during the offseason, he is overage and what adult hasnt gotten into a car after drinking. He made a mistake and he'll learn from it. Throwing him off does not do him any good or the team any good. If he ever screws up again then he's off. But i guarantee you he's beating himself up about it and won't do it again. If he does then say goodbye but not before then.
"But this was during the offseason, he is overage and what adult hasnt gotten into a car after drinking"
Me.
Point taken tony, but you can't attack the kid for doing the thing everyone and every lawyer would do by pleading not guilty. And kicking him off the team is way too harsh for his first incident with the law. Could you imagine if every person who ever got a DUI lost their job? There would be alot of unemployed. He made a mistake, suspend him for 3-5 games, he screws up again he's off period. Can't give up on a kid without giving him a second chance when it was just a stupid mistake like this one was. I'm sure Grady's beating himself up about this as he should be.
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