Minor Denard Legal Trouble
Driving with a suspended license outside East Lansing.
December 18th, 2012 at 10:42 AM ^
Dubya-Tee-Eff guys, let's stop this. Someone give me that Liar-Liar Gif.
December 18th, 2012 at 10:42 AM ^
In terms of crimes this seems to be about as minor as they come. Expired tags, pulled over for not signaling. His biggest mistake was not showing up to the court date, which I can’t explain but I’m guessing there was a reason. He paid the fine. This could have happened to anyone and doesn’t seem to display any poor intent or overly harmful decision making (just being forgetful regarding the tags). Denard is still the Golden Son.
December 18th, 2012 at 10:47 AM ^
I bought my tags a couple weeks ago, but they're still sitting on my front seat. I be like "WTF."
December 18th, 2012 at 10:48 AM ^
biggest mistake was going anywhere near E Lansing.
December 18th, 2012 at 1:06 PM ^
...what the heck was he doing up in East Lansing right after the Minnesota game? The article says he got pulled over at 1:33am on November 4th.
The team started the day in Minnesota whupping the Gophers, and while he didn't play (ulnar nerve boo-boo), he was on the sideline. So he flew back with the team, then jumped on the road and went to East Lansing?
Note that I'm not questioning the guy's right to be up there -- just curious as to what was worth driving up for? It's not like he's a popular guy in that town.
December 18th, 2012 at 3:50 PM ^
Maybe he wanted to watch the MSU-Nebraska game? Just a guess, there were a few Michigan fans there rooting for MSU.
December 18th, 2012 at 10:56 AM ^
"His biggest mistake was not showing up to the court date, which I can’t explain but I’m guessing there was a reason."
Why do we always try to explain away these guys' mistakes? Of course there was a reason - he wanted to avoid going to court. That's typically the only reason. If you ignore it, maybe it will go away.
But it doesn't go away.
This is just stupid.
December 18th, 2012 at 11:09 AM ^
Best excuse I can make up for him. /BOOM MGoBlog-ed
December 18th, 2012 at 11:26 AM ^
It can be both. It can be an actual bad thing that a player did wrong, but can also be not a big deal.
Barring some additional facts, this is a stupid thing that Denard did, and it is his fault. However, on the scale of jaywalking/speeding to murder/being Pitbull, this is a relatively minor offense (I'd place it below alcohol-related offenses but above traffic offenses).
December 18th, 2012 at 3:49 PM ^
What's the minimum sentence for being Pitbull?
Asking for a friend.....
December 18th, 2012 at 12:08 PM ^
Well in the case of Denard, he has a track record of being a program guy and not shying away from obligations. So he may or may not have ignore it but he probably gets the benefit of the doubt here...
December 18th, 2012 at 4:36 PM ^
Because we are Michigan. Our players are good. We can explain away our players mistakes. Other teams though, are just full of thugs.
December 18th, 2012 at 10:57 AM ^
In my experience, college kids will often forget things, like showing up to court. Maybe he got his days mixed up. Maybe he thought it was the AA court house, but it should have been in the jurisdiction in which he was cited. Who knows, but it's really a non-issue and a non-story.
December 18th, 2012 at 11:00 AM ^
You don't "forget" to show up to court, at least not if you consider going to court a significant event.
December 18th, 2012 at 11:14 AM ^
As someone who has had to go to court for minor incidents there are reasons you might not show up mistakenly. Often times with misdemeanors there are ways to settle the matter outside of court (pleading no contest, paying fine before the date) or in some instances your lawyer can represent you without you needing to be present. It is possible that there was a miscommunication or misunderstanding along the way. I hate to be the guy defending Denard blindly, I don’t consider myself that type of fan, but it’s not necessarily black and white. He is not someone that is ignorant enough to wake up in the morning and thinks he can avoid the issue by staying at home that day.
December 18th, 2012 at 2:39 PM ^
I'm not excusing the fact that he didn't show up, but he took care of it. It was dumb, but most of us (particularly the males among us) did a lot of dumb stuff at that age. Bottom line - it's taken care of, and he presumably learned a lesson from it.
December 18th, 2012 at 11:28 AM ^
Every student has a calendaring function built into their web mail now. Put the court date on your calendar and set it to remind you repeatedly. Don't forget that shit.
December 18th, 2012 at 12:37 PM ^
December 18th, 2012 at 12:37 PM ^
December 18th, 2012 at 1:00 PM ^
EDIT-DELETE
December 18th, 2012 at 4:31 PM ^
Wouldn't driving on a suspended license be the bigger problem? With failing to signal and expired tags a distant 2nd? Why was his license suspended in the first place?
December 18th, 2012 at 10:43 AM ^
Why was his license suspended in the first place?
December 18th, 2012 at 10:46 AM ^
Or unauthorized use of dilithium
December 18th, 2012 at 10:48 AM ^
how can Denard be unauthorized to use something that is inherently a part of his being?
December 18th, 2012 at 10:53 AM ^
December 18th, 2012 at 11:11 AM ^
With great power comes great responsibility.
December 18th, 2012 at 2:17 PM ^
want for this thread to go all politcal, but there you go on me.
December 18th, 2012 at 2:19 PM ^
"how can Denard be unauthorized to use something that is inherently a part of his being?"
/Errol Flynn'd
December 18th, 2012 at 10:48 AM ^
...response
December 18th, 2012 at 10:47 AM ^
December 18th, 2012 at 10:53 AM ^
December 18th, 2012 at 10:45 AM ^
This happens to people every single day and all he will have to do is pay a small fine.
December 18th, 2012 at 10:59 AM ^
Same thing happens if you forget to pay a parking ticket, an enough time goes by.
I imagine that denard's permanent address (where his car is registered) is in Florida. Mail may go there and he picks it up on breaks when he goes home. The notice may have sat for a while an he jus never got to it. Like i said, happens all the time.
December 18th, 2012 at 11:11 AM ^
I would think that his parents would call him to say that a letter from the Michigan Secretary of State came in the mail.
December 18th, 2012 at 11:42 AM ^
Even my parents who are generally competent get confused by mail. I've gotten (multiple) calls from them insisting that there's an important looking document that I need to pick up only to find that it was some cheesy piece of junk mail.
And even better than that, twice I've recieved jury duty requests from courthouses that my parents let sit for months. Those actually could have resulted in contempt of court charges. Thanks Mom & Dad! I swear in some matters, everybody over the age of 50 is just hapless.
December 18th, 2012 at 1:45 PM ^
As a recent grad, 2011 for those who care, I still get mail sent to my parents house even though I don't live there. Usually my Dad calls if it looks important enough and I give him the OK to open it and tell me what it says. Otherwise whenever I see them I get a pile of junk mail dropped on me. A Michigan Secretary of State letter would prompt a phone call from Pops.
I guess everyone is different though.
December 18th, 2012 at 12:12 PM ^
This would not happen if Denard just got the extended use of a loaner car through a local dealership like at OSU :-)
December 18th, 2012 at 3:10 PM ^
I've been ticketed for an expired tag, but you only have to go to court for that if you challenge it.
December 18th, 2012 at 10:51 AM ^
oh geesh, Ohio and State fans are going to loooove this
December 18th, 2012 at 10:53 AM ^
December 18th, 2012 at 10:56 AM ^
Not everyone who comes on here and takes quipy shots at State despite the fact that State was taken care of earlier this year. That's for sure.
December 18th, 2012 at 10:58 AM ^
December 18th, 2012 at 11:43 AM ^
December 18th, 2012 at 12:05 PM ^
This post is funny because it is true.
But you forgot a mention of "Little Sisters" from the MSU fan.
December 18th, 2012 at 12:33 PM ^
December 18th, 2012 at 12:07 PM ^
But it is still insightful
December 18th, 2012 at 10:54 AM ^
...when he doesn't want to get to where he's going too fast by simply running.
December 18th, 2012 at 10:54 AM ^
I feel like the team has gotten into trouble a bit more this year than usual? Kinda annoying..
December 18th, 2012 at 10:56 AM ^
Best line of article
He is expected to play quarterback, running back and wide receiver in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1 against South Carolina.