Stonum update - Plead guilty - Sentencing next week
I was just about to say some stuff like... If he's booted, He's just gonna drink himself to death, rabble, rabble, What he really needs is motivation and structure, rabble rabble...
But then I remembered something like that coming from the sparty tent not too long ago, and there goes that whole hipocrisy thing again. Take a step back, and think about if he were some 4th string walk-on instead of a starter. Think he'd be allowed to stay? Doubt it. One kid or another, why should he be held to a different standard? Also, keep in mind that any punishment handed down to Stonum will not only force him to pay back his own "debt", but will serve as deterrent and a sign to other players of what they can and can't get away with.
I guess I'm a little impartial here; I want him to be a productive player for Michigan, but I think he's done enough to be cut loose. The only way I'll be more disappointed in this whole situation is if he's allowed to play this year.
In Stonum's defense, his BAC was at 0.10 for the original incident (Sept. 2008) and 0.11 this time. Which yes does qualify as drunk driving but that's really not that much to drink. BUT, he shouldn't have missed his probationary meetings and what not and he is also a college athlete, he should know better. If he is really waking up at 5 am or whatever it was to push that sled up and down the field I think he deserves a chance to get back on the team because he clearly wants to be apart of it.
I don't think "But I only barely broke the law!" is a very good defense. The point of the limit being so low is partially to make sure people just DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE. Excusing someone because they just barely went over the limit seems silly. It'd be akin to saying "But officer, I know I fired that gun in the general direction of that guy, but the bullet was really far away from him, can you let me off?"
Prosecutors routinely offer better deals to those with lower BACs. With the flexability of sentencing up to 93 days for a first offense and up to 1 year for a second offense the judge will often take into consideration the BAC at sentencing. (I don't know if those exact penalties are accurate anymore, so think of them as more of an example).
should act as a one-way ratchet - to increase the severity of the punishment only. Whether the law is appropriate or whether he "just barely" broke the law should never be used as an argument to mitigate his punishment as it relates to the football team. If the courts say he broke the law (and Stonum himself via guilty plea), that's good enough for me.