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POSTED 9:32 a.m. EDT; UPDATED 9:47 a.m. EDT, June 27, 2007
TEN MONTHS LATER, STEVE FOLEY 'NOT IN A GOOD PLACE' by Michael David Smith
The NFL career of Chargers linebacker Steve Foley ended early in the morning of Sept. 3, 2006, when he was shot three times outside his home by an off-duty police officer who had seen him driving drunk and pursued him for 30 miles.
In a great piece of broadcast journalism, NFL Network did a lengthy report on the Foley shooting Tuesday night, and although Foley wouldn't go on camera to talk to NFL Network, others close to Foley were quoted as saying he is "still shaken" and "not in a good place."
The NFL Network report provided an evenhanded look at what transpired that night. It showed sympathy for Foley, whose injuries will prevent him from ever playing football again, but it also noted that Foley's blood-alcohol level that night was 0.233, nearly three times the legal limit, that he pled guilty to misdemeanor DUI in connection with the incident, that it was his sixth run-in with the law and that he had been in the league's alcohol-treatment program.
It also closely examined the actions of Coronado police officer Aaron Mansker, who shot Foley. The report left the strong impression that Mansker was overly eager to make the traffic stop, noting that Mansker followed Foley in his personal, unmarked car and that he was neither wearing a uniform nor displaying a badge as he tried to get Foley to stop. The report even played a recording of a conversation between two police dispatchers talking to each other after Mansker informed them that Foley initially pulled over for him but then drove off. One dispatcher told the other, "I'm surprised he got him to pull over. I wouldn't pull over for him."
At the same time, Mansker's eagerness to stop drunk drivers is motivated by the fact that his father was killed by a drunk driver. And Mansker was correct in thinking that Foley was drunk and therefore a danger to other drivers on the road, and it's possible to understand, given everything that happened, why Mansker feared for his life once he finally stopped Foley outside his home. (Foley's companion that night was just ordered to serve 180 days in jail for assault with a deadly weapon after driving Foley's car at Mansker.)
Foley was placed on the non-football injury list last year, which means he was not paid for the 2006 season. He'll never collect another NFL paycheck. Whether you have sympathy for Foley and think Mansker overstepped his bounds, or whether you think Foley has no one to blame but himself, the NFL Network report was a powerful look at a horrifying series of events.
TEN MONTHS LATER, STEVE FOLEY 'NOT IN A GOOD PLACE' by Michael David Smith
The NFL career of Chargers linebacker Steve Foley ended early in the morning of Sept. 3, 2006, when he was shot three times outside his home by an off-duty police officer who had seen him driving drunk and pursued him for 30 miles.
In a great piece of broadcast journalism, NFL Network did a lengthy report on the Foley shooting Tuesday night, and although Foley wouldn't go on camera to talk to NFL Network, others close to Foley were quoted as saying he is "still shaken" and "not in a good place."
The NFL Network report provided an evenhanded look at what transpired that night. It showed sympathy for Foley, whose injuries will prevent him from ever playing football again, but it also noted that Foley's blood-alcohol level that night was 0.233, nearly three times the legal limit, that he pled guilty to misdemeanor DUI in connection with the incident, that it was his sixth run-in with the law and that he had been in the league's alcohol-treatment program.
It also closely examined the actions of Coronado police officer Aaron Mansker, who shot Foley. The report left the strong impression that Mansker was overly eager to make the traffic stop, noting that Mansker followed Foley in his personal, unmarked car and that he was neither wearing a uniform nor displaying a badge as he tried to get Foley to stop. The report even played a recording of a conversation between two police dispatchers talking to each other after Mansker informed them that Foley initially pulled over for him but then drove off. One dispatcher told the other, "I'm surprised he got him to pull over. I wouldn't pull over for him."
At the same time, Mansker's eagerness to stop drunk drivers is motivated by the fact that his father was killed by a drunk driver. And Mansker was correct in thinking that Foley was drunk and therefore a danger to other drivers on the road, and it's possible to understand, given everything that happened, why Mansker feared for his life once he finally stopped Foley outside his home. (Foley's companion that night was just ordered to serve 180 days in jail for assault with a deadly weapon after driving Foley's car at Mansker.)
Foley was placed on the non-football injury list last year, which means he was not paid for the 2006 season. He'll never collect another NFL paycheck. Whether you have sympathy for Foley and think Mansker overstepped his bounds, or whether you think Foley has no one to blame but himself, the NFL Network report was a powerful look at a horrifying series of events.
