trickblue
Not Old School...Old Testament...
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Commanders safety Sean Taylor has rejected a plea bargain that would have permitted him to avoid jail time. Taylor passed on the deal because it would have required him to plead guilty to a felony count of aggravated assault.
The stakes couldn't be higher. Because if Taylor is convicted on any one of the three felony counts pending against him, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of three years.
On one hand, we can understand Taylor's desire not to have a felony on his record. On the other hand, we can't understand Taylor's desire not to have a felony on his record. In our estimation, Taylor won't be running for office or going to law school or doing anything else in his life that would make the felony charge relevant to him. So who cares about a stinkin' piece of paper, especially in light of the fact that the stinkin' piece of paper helps him to avoid finishing his career as a member of the Mean Machine?
Beyond the possibility of a stint in the hoosegow (and all that it implies), an incarceration could require Taylor to surrender millions in bonus money, if it's ultimately determined that the new CBA restrictions on the forfeiture of signing conduct policy.
So we'd reconsider this one if we were Taylor. Though his lawyers might be confident that they can score an acquittal, any lawyer who says that he or she bonus money don't apply retroactively to contracts that already have been negotiated and signed.
Then again, a guilty plea could be problematic as well, since it would subject Taylor to discipline from the league office, pursuant to the NFL's personal knows what a jury will do is either stupid or lying (or both). There's simply too much at stake here to pass on the offer, in light of the steep consequences of the worst-case scenario.
The stakes couldn't be higher. Because if Taylor is convicted on any one of the three felony counts pending against him, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of three years.
On one hand, we can understand Taylor's desire not to have a felony on his record. On the other hand, we can't understand Taylor's desire not to have a felony on his record. In our estimation, Taylor won't be running for office or going to law school or doing anything else in his life that would make the felony charge relevant to him. So who cares about a stinkin' piece of paper, especially in light of the fact that the stinkin' piece of paper helps him to avoid finishing his career as a member of the Mean Machine?
Beyond the possibility of a stint in the hoosegow (and all that it implies), an incarceration could require Taylor to surrender millions in bonus money, if it's ultimately determined that the new CBA restrictions on the forfeiture of signing conduct policy.
So we'd reconsider this one if we were Taylor. Though his lawyers might be confident that they can score an acquittal, any lawyer who says that he or she bonus money don't apply retroactively to contracts that already have been negotiated and signed.
Then again, a guilty plea could be problematic as well, since it would subject Taylor to discipline from the league office, pursuant to the NFL's personal knows what a jury will do is either stupid or lying (or both). There's simply too much at stake here to pass on the offer, in light of the steep consequences of the worst-case scenario.
