Beasley -- Reported DUI

Whew!

 

now all we have to worry about is Bruce punishing him with a 'dempsey like' suspenison?

 

I think BA needs to suspend him for half of camp. I know he is a vital member of the team, but he did something very stupid and dangerous. BA needs to show the team, the nation, and the USSF that he won't stand for this crap. After Beasley misses half of camp, then let him join up. If his form is good and he gels with the team, then take him to the WC finals. If not, then leave his butt at home. He'll think twice before drinking and driving again.

Whether you like it or not, sports stars are held to a higher standard and are not only tried in the governments court, but in the court of public opinion too.

BA, IMO, needs to take a stand here

 

My feeling is that, unless there is a "code of conduct" in place that specifically addresses something like this, he should NOT be suspended. This is completely unrelated to soccer, whereas Dempsey's actions were soccer related.

 

A stand against what? One player made one bad decision. It's not as though we're dealing with Robbie Fowler and Gazza here. The USMNT is typically a well-behaved bunch of guys. This event was entirely exceptional. At the very least, we need to know more about the situation before getting all Old-Testament with judging DaMarcus.

 

It may or may not have been.

I think a lot of us on this board know the fact that when you get caught with a DUI, it's usually not on your first time doing it.

DeMarcus may or may not have a problem that needs to be addressed. The event may or may not represent a one-time thing (although statistically speaking, that is probably unlikely). We just don't know really.

 

I think that Bruce and DaMarcus should sit down and discuss the worrying behavior over a bottle of anisette.

 

Or maybe DaMarcus could have his brother Jamar do his driving for him. Didn't he already get his license back?

 

A stand show the rest of the team and future team members what will happen if you break the law. Now i am no bible thumper, hell i'm an atheist that enjoys the brew more than most footie fans, but i'm always responsible and make sure if i'm drinking i have somebody to drive me or i get a cab.

I agree we need to know more about the situation, but with what we know now, my opinion on the situation is above.

Now, if it comes out that he was railroaded by the dutch authorities and the charge is bogus, i'll be the first to stand in line offering forgivness, but in the court of public opinion, he has been found guilty.

 

Haha, yeah right.

Just cause the USSF isn't the NBA doesn't mean they're not going to sweep things under the carpet, even something as minor as this. Drunk driving is a serious deal. In North Carolina, if you kill someone while driving drunk, it's an automatic murder charge. In this case, no one got hurt thankfully, he'll pay his fine, take some class, and might be on probation for awhile. Arena will pass it off as "a Dutch issue" and that's that. No Beasley = 1-2 at best in the World Cup.

 

What does that mean? Do you mean when you get caught DUI it's probably not the first time you drove when you were above the legal limit? Probably.

But to say when you get caught DUI is probably not the first time doesn't make sense. I mean, assuming you have more than one DUI, one of them would have to be the first one.

BTW, when I lived in Texas in the mid-80's it was perfrctly legal to drink and drive. You couldn't drive drunk, but you could drink and drive.

Not sure what constitutes a DUI in the Netherlands, but in Washington, DC you can be busted with a 0.0 BAC.

 

I meant that when a person drives with blood-alcohol in the DUI range (as opposed to the DWI range), the odds of them getting caught are pretty low.

So if you get caught, it's statistically unlikely that this is the first time that you drove under the influence.

 

Not to mention DMB is so skinny he might be over the limit after half a beer...

 

Or Edson Buddle could drive. Oops, maybe not.

 

Suspending Beasley for half the camp = Punishing the USMNT.

You know, he made a mistake, and he's being punished. This isn't college. He's a professional athlete and this has nothing to do with soccer.

 

I think that would negativly impact BA's great tenure in charge of the team. I really want the team to get out of the group stage and progress, but I don't want the team thinking they can do what they want and have no consquences for their actions.

Hell, Dempsey got suspended for punching a teammate and there were no criminal charges filed. Here we have a case of criminal charges being files and the appearence that he will be pleading guilty and paying a fine. An admission of guilt makes this worse than what Dempsey did, therefore he needs stronger punishment.

If Beasley does get left at home and we crash out, then he will earn a lesson, as will all other and future team members. It would suck, but good would be done in the long run.

 

The tolerance for drunk driving in Europe is virtually nil. And significantly lower than our .10 or .08 tolerance level.

A couple of years ago when we were still living in Switzerland, my daughter was crossing the street in the crosswalk and a driver almost didn't see her in time. He ended up hitting her -- her school backpack cushioned the blow -- and knocked her to the ground. Luckily, she was ok, just had the wind knocked out of her.

However, the man had just come from the pub on his way home from work. He had one beer and he was fined about $800 and had his license suspended for a year. There's no playing about DUIs there.

And in Europe, with all the public transportation, there really is no reason for drinking and driving. Bad move on Beasley's part. I hope he's learned from it.

 

I agree. Beasley is a representative of the team and if he is punished then the team is punished. How else will the rest of the players see that when they break the law, they have to face punishment for their actions.

It has everything to do with him being a professional athlete. He is in the public spotlight and whether he likes it or not, he is held to a higher standard than just you and I.

 

AT&T would not suspend an employee if they got a DUI. Neither would Microsoft or Apple or anyone as such.

What happens in Beasley's provate is his own damn business. He owes us nothing but to live by the same rules as the rest of the world. If he wants to go out and go drink and drive and kill people, fine he'll get tossed in jail. So be it.

this is not an issue for Arena to discipline over. this is not an issue for the USSF to discipline over. IF they suspend him he would have every freakin right to file a grievance with the USPA

 

no, he really isn't.

 

the same way everyone else on the planet does.

 

appoo, we will have to agree to disagree here, because our opinions are completely opposite. I respect your opinion as I hope you respect mine and we'll have to leave it at that.



jb

 

Signed,

Bobby Convey and Eddie Lewis

 

I hope everyone understands that I have nothing against Beasley, i just have a very strong opinion on how celebs and athletes should be dealt with when in the public eye. By making the kind of money they make for playing a game, they are shoved into the spotlight and are held to a higher standard.