Driving with a suspended license outside East Lansing.
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.
biggest mistake was going anywhere near E Lansing.
"I promise you we would have walked to the University of Michigan." - Brady Hoke
...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.
"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.
And learned from the Stonum incident?
Best excuse I can make up for him. /BOOM MGoBlog-ed
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).
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...
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.
For my privacy, my new username is "non-Oriental non-Andrew"
You don't "forget" to show up to court, at least not if you consider going to court a significant event.
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.
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.
For my privacy, my new username is "non-Oriental non-Andrew"
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.
I can safely say nobody I know uses that shit. Denard still should have been able to remember said date, but that's not one of the reasons.
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?
Why was his license suspended in the first place?
RIP my avatar, June 14, 1998 - October 26, 2012.
how can Denard be unauthorized to use something that is inherently a part of his being?
Just because its part of who he is, doesn't mean the government will allow it.
With great power comes great responsibility.
I'm curious about that too...
Michigan FB, Michigan BB, Michigan HKY, 49ers, SF Giants, Sac Kings, Red Wings
The article doesn't seem to say. He just had expired tags when he got pulled over then missed the original court date. I can only assume that after he missed the court date his license was automatically suspended until he paid the fines or something.
Forgot to renew tags. Got a notice in the mail instructing me to come to court, I was swamped at work, and I had my license suspended. Paid the fine a few weeks later and license was immediately reinstated.
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.
I would think that his parents would call him to say that a letter from the Michigan Secretary of State came in the mail.
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.
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.
This would not happen if Denard just got the extended use of a loaner car through a local dealership like at OSU :-)
oh geesh, Ohio and State fans are going to loooove this
“When your team is winning, be ready to be tough, because winning can make you soft. On the other hand, when your team is losing, stick by them. Keep believing” - Bo Schembechler
Seriously, who the fuck cares what they think?
Because their players drive more luxurious cars?
"Welllllllll..."
Is how I imagine they react. Osu fan: "do you think Michigan will get banned from a bowl? Denard did something way worse than selling off memorabilia for free shit and then having a university wide cover-up." Msu fan: "agree. I bet after he goes to prison for this, Brady choke will let him play without even sitting a game. Typical scUM player. We won 4 in a row once. Suck on that walvies."
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This post is funny because it is true.
But you forgot a mention of "Little Sisters" from the MSU fan.
4th Generation Student
Class of 2014
Go Blue!
...when he doesn't want to get to where he's going too fast by simply running.
I feel like the team has gotten into trouble a bit more this year than usual? Kinda annoying..
the supreme head butt
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.
Robinson had to pay $870 in fines and court costs for the charge of driving with a suspended or revoked license, along with $65 for the expired registration tags on his plates.
That's probably more than his 2001 Pontiac is worth. You'd think he'd have a nicer car with all of the #16 jerseys the M Den sells.
Dubya-Tee-Eff guys, let's stop this. Someone give me that Liar-Liar Gif.