Fitz Pleads Guilty of Operating While Visibly Impaired

Anyone who agrees with Drew Sharp needs their head examined.

This situation is a "win / win" for Michigan-Haters.  If Fitz plays and does well...then they criticize Hoke for playing him.  If Fitz does not play and Michigan loses, then they laugh and say that Michigan is not ready to play the mighty SEC.

Its really a crappy situation so the best thing to do is what Coach Hoke is doing and just tune that shit out.

Why didn't fitz contact the firm at the top of mgoblog to "avoid a DUI conviction" and secondly, why should the rest of the team, those that didn't get caught drinking and driving, have to suffer because fitz screwed up? Any punishment should be solely for fitz, not the entire team. Make him speak to hs kids about drinking and driving. Make him attend Survivors Speakout, but to say he has to miss a game to be punished is ridiculous. Should he decide to go pro after this season, missing 1 game isn't going to teach him anything.

man i feel bad for some of  your kids..they better never mess up....since dad was so perfect

Id be shocked if he's on the field...Hoke's whole point about "this is Michigan" goes deeper than wins and losses and recruiting. Based off the tolerance for Stonum, I'd say we won't see Fitz in Dallas. This is Michigan and if the past is any indicator, he will be suspended.

Hoke, by playing the wait-and-see game, has worsened the situation. He's made it bigger. Either way, he should have made a call on this already and put it in the past. Why keep it alive like this? Now, if plays Fitz, it will look especially bad. Which is why I'm guessing he's not playing him.

 Is the primary evidence re: Fitz's intoxication a breath test?  If so, the number of possible sources of error in that test is breathtaking: eg differences in individual breathing patterns and physiology, conditions such as gingivitis, esophageal reflux, activities such as kissing, use of breath spray or mouthwash, as well as variations in the time of alcohol consumption and a multitude of possible test errors.*  (indeed, if he drank brandy, as he says he did, then I wonder if this more aromatic substance would be more likely to yield false positive test results.  I also wonder if the lower breathing rate of athletes does the opposite of hyperventilation and falsely increases apparent alcohol in the breath tests).

In any case, Fitz's plea down to a lesser sentence may have arisen because the police could not definitively prove that he had an illegally high blood alcohol concentration.  Perhaps the "visible evidence of impairment" acknowldged in Fitz's plea was based on other, subjective evidence, such as police impressions of his speech, eye movements, finger-to-nose testing, etc.--but these impressions too can be subjective and prone to error.

I raise these questions merely to illustrate how one could wrongly assume that a breath test is definitive proof of a DUI.  It is not.  However, I do not in any way justify Fitz's apparent poor judgment.  IMO, he does deserve some punishment for himself.  At the same time, though, the team itself really does not deserve punishment, and to keep him out of the whole Ala game would reduce their chances of victory.

So, what would be fair?   I have an admittedly unconventional suggestion: Suspend Fitz not for a single game but for 1 1/2 games.  the latter would include the first half of each of the next 3 games (Ala, Air Force, and UMass). That would not punish the entire team by keeping him out of the whole Ala game.  Yet for Fitz, himself,  it would be a longer suspension and demotion than than would a single game (eg for Ala only).  It would also give his replacements longer to challenge his starting status.

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breathalyzer

Think we are crazy because we think he might get suspended. Down here, that deserves just your typical slap on the wrist.

I am aa little late to the party, but this feels like one of those decisions that gets him on the field.  He'll do the community service, but I'd be shocked if he saw any jail time.  Figure he'll be playing on Saturday.

It's up to the Coach if he will play any portions of this game. If it is a blow out by halftime, one way or the other, Hoke will probably keep him out.  Also, you never know what the punishment game is? May be he will sit out in a future game?

that is televising the Michigan Alabama game. 

SpartanSam (Speaking in incoherent tones known to every bartender): "How dare Hoke put him in? Dantonio would never do that.”

MichiganMike: “That’s because all his team are repeat offenders.  They’d still be in jail.”

BuckeyeBob (his words slurring together almost incomprehensibly).: “I don’t care whatcha say….He blew a .12….guilty of drunk driving.” 

MichiganMike: “You already said that.”

BuckeyeBob:  Well, I’ll say it again (raising his voice so that it is now almost audible in Columbus): “Guilty Guilty Guilty,”

 MichiganMike: “Thanks for clearing that up.”

Barely able to lift his wobbly head from the bar, SpartanSam  says to Buckeye Bob, .   “Well,  let’s get the hell get out of this goddamn state.  Let’s find a real f-ing sports bar.  A place where there aren’t all these sonovabiches who don’t give a damn about drunk driving.”

BuckeyeBob, ,staggering to keep his balance, replies:….”Okay. .  I’ll drive.”

Good, give him the Michael Floyd treatment and move on.

To tardily give my input.  1. I don't care, either way, what happens.  I have no dog in this fight (figuratively speaking) and what Hoke decides, it'll be in a justified manner.  2.  I do think he will play.  Plain and simple.

What ails me is the worriyng over the notion of, "what this will make 'us' look like"; whoever the hell "us" is.  Yes, I know "us" is to mean us and you all, the alums, fans, Universty members, etc..  If Hoke allows Touissaint to play in ths Alabama game, there are many of you worrying how this will make the University look, I guess.  To that I say, Who gives a sh*t?!  You're worried about what other fans will say, what other message board geeks are going to say, what your Ohio and Sparty pals are going to say, etc..  Again, I say, who cares!?  There's this hubris amongst fans these days that we're so protective of "our teams" and we put these "teams", and to some degree the players, on these pedestals and worship them; and when something "bad" happens to them our hubris is outed, to defend and shoot down naysayers.

Has something someone said or has the reputation of a collegiate sporting team you have a rooting interest in, ever affected your life in a real way?  I would guess no for the vast majority of fans; if you answer yes, other issues are at stake.  Seek help.

Let Hoke make the decision.  Cut the "I will be dissapointed if he plays".  The University of Michigan and all of it's members are a classy institution.  This little (not little on a micro level or to be taken lightly, but in the scheme of things involving the University) incident has no bearing on that, AT ALL!  Don't let the jackasses of the world force you or worry you to think otherwise.  It's all talk, sports talk, and most sports talk is a bunch of time-killing; nothing significant nor important in the scheme of things.  If Fitz plays, he'll more than likely have earned it and educated himself on some life lessons while doing so (we can all hope, anyways).