TrueBlue2003

October 20th, 2017 at 4:56 PM ^

a license is absurd (I mean, how is that even possible? C'mon man), it's a non-violent, victimless series of misdeamors that aren't even as dangerous as speeding.  This isn't one to make fun of their lack of discipline about.  Every team in the country would play a guy that gets this resolved.

snarling wolverine

October 20th, 2017 at 5:08 PM ^

, it's a non-violent, victimless series of misdeamors that aren't even as dangerous as speeding.

Do you know what all of his misdemeanors were? The article says that one was for fleeing the scene of an accident and another was for an open alcohol container. The others aren't mentioned.  The lack of a license (seven times!) is on top of all that.

TrueBlue2003

October 20th, 2017 at 5:16 PM ^

The article says he was "initially" charged with fleeing the scene, sort of like how Grant Perry was initially charged with sexually assault but it was dropped.  Nothing says that charge stood for Scott.

The article also says the seven were related to license issues, and neither of those two offenses have anything to do with his license, so there's some massive inconsistencies in the reporting, which isn't shocking.

 

snarling wolverine

October 20th, 2017 at 5:20 PM ^

Fleeing the scene of an accident is a victimless crime?  Tell that to the person he hit.

The article also says the seven were related to license issues, and neither of those two offenses have anything to do with his license,

They didn't pull him over because he didn't have a license.  They pulled him over seven times, for various reasons (only two of which are specified in the article), and discovered each time that he also didn't have a license. 

TrueBlue2003

October 20th, 2017 at 5:36 PM ^

of an accident is a completely different charge from anything related to the accident.  Do you know he was driving? Do you know he was at fault? Do you even know the accident involved another person or vehicle?  You're making all those assumptions, but those aren't requirements to get a fleeing charge.  He could have backed into a tree and walked away to find a phone chrager to call someone for all we know.  He could have been in a car with his buddy that backed into a tree and then jumped out because he had to get to class.

If he was driving and hit someone that'd warrant a charge on its own, and should asbolutely be dealt with accordingly.  But that wasn't the charge.  And it was a charge that was subsequently dropped.

DrMantisToboggan

October 20th, 2017 at 5:58 PM ^

Driving without a license is only a victimless offense if you are a capable and safe driver. If you don't have a license (even after 7 arrests) because you've never been taught how to drive and haven't gone to drivers' ed, then it is certainly dangerous for that person to be on the road. 

 

I agree, that, unless the above is true, Scott is not doing anything that harms others, per se. However, at some point a coach needs to discipline players for blatant stupidity. You can't always wait for one of your player's to harm someone, there has to be a limit on even victimless public stupidity. At that point you are representing your program as a collection of morons and you are showing the other players that they can get away with anything that doesn't hurt someone.

TrueBlue2003

October 20th, 2017 at 6:19 PM ^

was specifically because of an unpaid ticket, NOT because of poor driving and that is why prosecutors let him enter a deal that that charge would be dropped if he doesn't get misdemeanors for six months.  So the state has explicitly declared him to still be, and never determined him not to be, a safe enough driver. That was the "resolution".

In fact, the M live article goes on to talk about the charges:

- 1 open intox (stupid, stupid, but passed the sobriety test so cops determined he wasn't a danger apparently)

- 1 speeding

- 1 reckless operation

- 1 equipment violation (headlight or something, probably)

- 4 charges of driving on a suspended license because of unpaid tickets relating to the above.

If a college kid can't pay a $100 ticket or doesn't have enough money to fix his headlight right away, I'm not gonna sit in my ivory tower and blame him too much for failing to pay and getting his license suspended.

Again, he's an idiot, and yes, speeding and reckless operation are dangerous, but no coach in America suspends for these things.  And I don't disagree that maybe there should be a point at which too many stupid, minor things deserves more harsh punishment, but I'm not sure where that line is.  Three moving violations?  Five? 

The state accumulates points based on violations and uses that to suspend licenses, and he didn't reach that point (and it's not hard to get there, I know because I got three speeding tickets in college and got a letter from secretary of state that one more and my license was suspended.)  I don't think a football team should be expected to have harsher punishments than that.

TrueBlue2003

October 20th, 2017 at 6:38 PM ^

he'd be punished, probably with something like you suggest.  I also bet he doesn't start and sits out a series or more against IU, which I think fits the crime here.

I think Dantonio has lots of flaws, and takes suspect character guys in the name of competition, and absolutely let his program get out of control in the recent past, but I just don't think this is something to criticize.

Yo_Blue

October 20th, 2017 at 8:31 PM ^

We are a country of rules and laws.  No one is bigger than the law.  LJ Scott could give a shit about rules and laws.  The dude needs to understand this and no one is teaching him.  At the top of the "no one" list is his head coach.

Stopped seven times in a year and a half is a rather large red flag.  

Blueblood2991

October 20th, 2017 at 4:17 PM ^

The thing that really blows my mind is that he has not only just been pulled over, but arrested 7 times. So the cops are doing their jobs, but the prosecutors are letting him off the hook.

Strange. All my Sparty coworkers tell me how unfair the media and legal system are for Spartans compared to UM. Funny I hadn't heard about these 7 arrests before.

Blueblood2991

October 20th, 2017 at 4:38 PM ^

 

According to court records, the incident was the seventh time he has been arrested in Michigan or Ohio for issues with his license in the past two years.

 

Previous offenses weren't ticky-tack problems either. Forgetting to pay a speeding ticket is one thing, but leaving the scene of an accident one time and driving with open intox another is different.

FauxMo

October 20th, 2017 at 4:24 PM ^

In 1993, I got pulled over in northern Michigan with a "technically suspended" license from an unpaid moving violation. It was a second offense for the exact same thing in 1 year. I was put on 90 days probation, and the judge up there said any contact at all with cops over those 90 days and I would serve 30 days in the Antrim County Jail. He meant it. Scott getting off this easy is a ridiculous joke. 

PopeLando

October 20th, 2017 at 4:13 PM ^

The story here is that, somehow, LJ keeps doing things that result in him being pulled over...at which point the officer discovers that there is no valid license.

Like, "driving on a suspended license" was the "oh you're a football player" wrist slap SEVEN TIMES.

Someone needs to map the route from East Lansing to his hometown in Hubbard Ohio...and then all of us need to stay far far away from that route.

stephenrjking

October 20th, 2017 at 4:13 PM ^

I'm a benefit of the doubt guy, so make no mistake about this: This is total garbage. Regular people don't get pulled over 7 times, once for an open container, once for leaving the scene of the accident, drive with no license, get arrested, and then just get everything worked out in two days.

That's hogwash. Bench him. I've defended Dantonio against the rivalry hate hordes before, but there's a reason Dantonio has been having issues in the locker room and off the field with his more gifted players and this is it. They know they can do whatever they want and they'll still play. 

Dantonio is not the guilty party in the crimes that were committed in the offseason and should not be treated as such. But is his behavior with guys like Scott and Malik McDowell responsible for sending messages to other guys that if  they're talented enough they can do whatever they want? It looks that way to me. And that's not a lightly-spoken sentiment.

Esterhaus

October 20th, 2017 at 5:30 PM ^

Judges don't pull folks over for eratic driving. Cops do that. With seven infractions in at least two separate states the problem is not the "court system" nor the cops. They aren't out to get the dude. He's fucking up and with life-death consequences for innocents. Seven times now. Maybe it'll be you or yours who suffers. Consider.

ColeIsCorky

October 20th, 2017 at 4:31 PM ^

Dantonio is doing LJ Scott no favors in helping him resolve these issues to ensure he actually has a future post-college football.

MSU deserves to get disgraced by media outlets everywhere. I hope it happens.

GomezBlue

October 20th, 2017 at 4:58 PM ^

"His attorneys approached us today indicating that they wanted to do a quick pre-trial to see if the case couldn't be resolved," Yeadon said. "We looked at his driving record, realized the suspension was only for an unpaid ticket, which is different than having your license suspended by the Secretary of State because it's bad driving or something of that nature. We gave him our standard plea bargain offer, which we give to anyone in his situation that he pled to the defective equipment."

 

http://www.mlive.com/spartans/index.ssf/2017/10/lj_scott_accepts_plea_d…