Enlightening Ignorance

Dante Stallworth

It seems that after driving drunk in Miami and killing an elderly man back in March of this year, Dante Stallworth will only serve 30 days in jail, along with 2 years house arrest (which can’t be all bad for a millionaire), 8 years probation, and the lifetime surrendering of his drivers license. Goodell has also suspended him indefinitely and without pay for the 2009 NFL season, but the terms of his sentence states that he will be able to play football during his home confinement period if reinstated by the commissioner. I understand that by pleading guilty to manslaughter charges, Stallworth is taking full responsibility for what he has done. However, this case is eerily similar to the Leonard Little case back in 1998. For those who don’t know about Little, he’s a defensive end of the St. Louis Rams and in 1998, after leaving a party drunk, he careened into a woman’s car an killed her. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail, 4 years probation, and 1000 hours of community service. Under commissioner Tagliabue, he was only suspended for 8 games during the 1998 season.

Micheal Vick

Now keep in mind that in the Stallworth and Little cases, two people lost their lives, while Michael Vick was made and example of for dogfighting. Vick was sentenced to 23 months in a federal prison, 4 years probation, and it’s still up in the air whether or not he will be reinstated into the league. Not to mention the price that he has paid financially, socially, and publicly. Yes, I do understand there were extenuating circumstances that went into the Vick conviction but I am talking about “hard time served” here. Stallworth and Little’s time served combined is still a fraction of what Vick served, and they killed people. In my opinion, people who drive drunk should be treated by our legal system like murders, rapists, and pedophiles. There is nothing more inconsiderate than getting behind he wheel of a car drunk. You are not only endangering your life but the lives of anyone unfortunate enough to cross your path. I’m not advocating for Michael Vick because dogfighting is a disgusting and semibarbaric form of entertainment. I like everyone else, thought he should have been punished for his indiscretion but when you compare these offenses, the punishments seem a bit questionable, don’t they? This is just my opinion, but I personally think Stallworth and Little were slapped on the wrist, considering the fact that two people are dead because of their bad judgement and blatant inconsideration.