Follow up to the Donte Stallworth situation

DONTE’S INFERNO

Just to follow up a little on the Donte Stallworth situation as we talked about it last week….

I see that BetOnline Sportsbook has put up some numbers regarding the discipline against Stallworth, which has been announced as an "indefinite suspension" by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

It sort of goes like this:

HOW LONG WILL DONTE STALLWORTH BE SUSPENDED FOR?

Less than one season -110

One Season -120

More than one season +300

In our commentary last week, I came down pretty hard on the prosecutor for cutting a deal that would allow Stallworth to serve 30 days in jail and get off pretty easy with the rest. Sure, he lost his driver’s license, but with a salary like this guy’s been carrying ($5.15 million) he can afford a limo (or at least a Town Car) and driver.

I had a talk with a lawyer friend of mine who said that in cases like this, the verdict that come down are slanted very much toward what the victim wants (or in this case, their family). And here, the family seemed quite satisfied with the punishment that was doled out. In fact, they were part of structuring it. They were paid off, as if to cover the criminal and civil obligations all at once. There’s a very logical explanation for all of it. Stallworth’s $4.5 million bonus is not really in jeopardy, regardless of actions by the NFL office or the Cleveland Browns, so the speculation is that it may have gone right to the victim’s family.

At least one prosecutor I can find would not have stood for the whole arrangement.

Kathleen Rice is the district attorney for Nassau County in New York, a Democrat whose policy is zero tolerance for drunk drivers and no plea bargains in those cases. As Long Island’s first female district attorney, she had the solid backing of MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving). She recently wrote a guest editorial in the Cleveland Palin-Dealer that addressed Stallworth’s situation.

"As a prosecutor, I know all too well that this sentence will perpetuate the myth that these tragedies are accidents, rather than inevitabilities. It will serve as a benchmark for defense attorneys across the country seeking lenient sentences for their clients," she wrote.

Rice continued on: "I believe the sentence given to Mr. Stallworth undermines the fight for justice for victims of vehicular crimes. I believe it undermines the public’s perception of fairness in the criminal justice system. Whether it is accurate or not, this sentence gives the appearance that another wealthy celebrity was given tremendous leniency."

I agree with that, and believe me, I’m not coming from a viewpoint of being holier-than-thou. As someone who has driven drunk, and finally was cited for it, I remember having hit street signs, light poles, running over lawns, rolling past stop signs. In short, doing a lot of things that I would have continued to do had I not been stopped from doing them. Yes, I have stopped doing them, and don’t regret it at all, because one of those things I’d have hit would have sooner or later been a pedestrian.

Here’s Jay Mariotti of the Chicago Sun-Times, who included a tidbit about shady prosecutor Kathellen : "Why Stallworth’s generosity factored into a dramatically reduced jail term, I can’t explain — other than to suggest that an investigation of all parties be launched. But part of Stallworth’s stunning deal with the court included an immediate continuation of his football career."

Not so fast, thank God.

Leonard Little, who was cited in a 1998 case for involuntary manslaughter after killing someone while driving drunk, got an eight-game suspension from the NFL.

Roger Goodell, who has been on the job for just a couple of years and isn’t looking to be lenient, stepped in and added some perspective on things, just like Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis did to the eight "Black Sox" after they fixed the World Series in 1919 but were found not guilty in court.

From Goodell’s statement: "While the criminal justice system has determined the legal consequences of this incident, it is my responsibility as commissioner to determine appropriate league discipline for your actions, which have caused irreparable harm to the victim and his family, your club, your fellow players and the NFL."

Of course, "indefinitely" means that we don’t know how long he’ll be out for, hence the proposition.

This is where I think the "backroom deal" might be made between Goodell and the Browns.

WILL DONTE STALLWORTH RETURN TO THE BROWNS?

Yes -120

No -120

The Cleveland franchise stands to take a $7.5 million salary cap hit if they cut Stallworth now. That’s 6% of the maximum salary cap for any NFL team. If they don’t have to act on this until next season, it would wind up being a big relief to them, because the expectation is that the salary cap will be abolished by that time (barring an extension of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement), meaning that there would be no hit.

The magic number is actually eight games, because after that Cleveland can hide him on some "reserve" list and then carry the matter over to 2010. The motivation on the part of the club is clear, though; they want to release him, but they just don’t know how to make it make more sense economically.

What I figure is that Goodell is going to accommodate them. He will suspend Stallworth for ONE SEASON (-120 at BetOnline) – this season – allowing Cleveland to maneuver better, because the team was a victim of circumstance. They will in turn get rid of him, thus possibly ending his career and making that suspension, in effect, permanent. So NO (-120), he won’t "return" to the Browns.

And he shouldn’t.