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Stallworth Gets 30 Days

by Trevor Thomas

June 16, 2009

Cleveland Browns' wide receiver Donte´ Stallworth has pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter in Florida. Along with 10 years of probation and 1,000 hours of community service, Stallworth is going to serve 30 days in jail after striking and killing a man while driving drunk back in March of this year. Also, to avoid a lawsuit, Stallworth reached a financial settlement with the family of the man he killed.

I hate to keep beating a dead horse—excuse me—a dead dog, but compare this to Michael Vick’s punishment. After pleading guilty in December of 2007, Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison, which exceeded the 12 to 18 months that the prosecutors recommended. Vick was also fined $5,000 and given three years' probation for the crime of running a dog fighting operation.

Michael Vick was also suspended by the NFL for the entire 2007 season—a suspension that went into effect before Vick admitted guilt to anything. Donte´ Stallworth has yet to hear anything from the NFL concerning a suspension. There have been no lawsuits against Vick in his sad story; however, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Vick incurred financial losses of approximately $142 million. This includes $71 million in salary from the Atlanta Falcons, $50 million in endorsement income, and $20 million in previously paid bonuses.

In addition, according to Sports Illustrated, Vick agreed to pay more than $928,000 to care for dogs seized on his property. According to federal court documents filed in April of 2007, 53 pit bulls were seized on Vick’s Virginia property. That works out to more than $17,500 per dog! That’s several thousand dollars more than the ANNUAL average healthcare plan costs American families!

It will be interesting to see what kind of suspension the NFL gives Stallworth. Perhaps at least the NFL will dish out proportional judgment to the man who drove drunk and killed another human vs. the man who fought and killed dogs.

Copyright 2009, Trevor Grant Thomas