Why Is This So Common Among NFL Players Now?

[freddyg12]

I'm very conscientious about drinking & driving, but I haven't always been. I took my chances in my 20s simply because I was out somewhere, drank more than I intended to while having a good time, and then all of a sudden it's closing time & you have to drive home. I can't blame Tatupu any more than so many other young people. I'm not saying he doesn't know better, but age & lifestyle make him no different from anyone else.

Yes, he could arrange drivers, cabs, etc. In the future I'll bet he plans a night out better.

On a side note, the real problem is that in the U.S. everybody wants to drive themselves, suburban development has made driving a necessity, and there are only a small no. of places left where one can live well w/out a car. Lots of other countries drink as much as we do but don't have the same drunk driving problems simply because people aren't driving.

[MTK]

I'd be willing to bet a good number of us have driven after having a few drinks.

[Longtimefan]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

I'd be willing to bet a good number of us have driven after having a few drinks.

I'd be willing to bet you're correct. In most cases, people who take the chance driving under the influence never believe they'll be stopped. The affect of alcoholic beverages can cloud judgement, and render good decision making a problem.

Bottom line though, they just don't think they'll be caught.

[Monkeydad]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

Because it's common in society?

Correct. Plus, because it ALWAYS makes the news when a pro athlete does it.

If you had reports from your local news every time anyone in your town drove drunk, you'd ask the same question about your town as you just did about NFL players.

[hagams]

Originally Posted by RobH4413

It's really doesn't get more simpler than that. A cab is not that expensive...

True..so true. I know for a fact, that's I've been way to drunk to drive several times, and I did it anyway. Short story why I quit doing it.

A couple of years ago, I was stationed in MCAS Cherry Point, NC. There's nothing in the town, just a small decalate place. About 20 miles East was the nearest Wal-Mart. A Marine E-6 was driving to wash his truck about 1:45 pm, and struck an individual riding a bike(in a bike lane) who was traveling the opposite way the Marine was. The E-6 was drunk, and blew a .18 on the BAC machine.
The person that was hit and killed just happened to be another Marine who had graduated boot camp 15 days prior. He was given a ride to Wal-Mart to buy a bicycle, and chose to ride home for the exersice.

[prinzeofmoval]

Fine them 500k for the offense. I know that sounds extreme but that will stop a few.

[WaldSkins]

Originally Posted by Sheriff Gonna Getcha

Precisely. There are close to 2,000 players in the NFL at any given time. If you took a random sample of 2,000 males between the ages of 21 and 35, I think you'd find that a decent percentage of them have had run-ins with the law. I'd venture to guess that 10% of this site's members have had DWIs/OWIs/DUIs. I seem to recall reading a summary of a study which came the same conclusion (sorry, no link).

I got a DUI ridding in the passenger seat of my own car.

[killromo]

Originally Posted by WaldSkins

I got a DUI ridding in the passenger seat of my own car.

How?!? but that sucks big time. I was talking to a guy in a madd class I had to attend that got his 2nd dui riding his bicycle. I got one a year ago, so far it has cost me between $5,000 and $6,000. Costly mistake to say the least, I have definitely learned my lesson after hundreds of times I probably shouldn't have driven. I guess the law of averages caught up with me finally. Now I am on a first name basis with a local cabbie.

[WaldSkins]

Originally Posted by killromo

How?!? but that sucks big time. I was talking to a guy in a madd class I had to attend that got his 2nd dui riding his bicycle. I got one a year ago, so far it has cost me between $5,000 and $6,000. Costly mistake to say the least, I have definitely learned my lesson after hundreds of times I probably shouldn't have driven. I guess the law of averages caught up with me finally. Now I am on a first name basis with a local cabbie.

Because me and my buddy were out at the bar and he said he was ok to drive so i let him and its because i was in the car and we were both legally drunk.

DUI's are just a huge money maker for the police. I was wrong but some of the ways people get dui's now is kinda ridiculous.

[Lady Brave]

Originally Posted by WaldSkins

Because me and my buddy were out at the bar and he said he was ok to drive so i let him and its because i was in the car and we were both legally drunk.

DUI's are just a huge money maker for the police. I was wrong but some of the ways people get dui's now is kinda ridiculous.

That's a completely foolish and ignorant statement. Contrary to popular belief, court fees associated with traffic violations do not directly benefit law enforcement. They benefit the state. Most law enforcement officers are employed by city or county agencies and get no funding from the state other than grant money for equipment upgrades and child centered programs. The only time these agencies see a portion of court fees refunded to them is for the service of warrants or orders for arrest.

Trust me when I say this. The last thing an officer is thinking when he pulls someone over is that he's trying to meet a quota or this is his opportunity to generate money. His main concerns are trying to stay alive and keeping the public safe.

[hooskins]

Originally Posted by djnemo65

When I think about how many people I know who have driven home when they shouldn't have at least a few times I would say it's close to 100 percent of my friends. Especially when we were all in our early twenties.

That's not saying it's OK, but I'm not going to sit here and act all high and mighty when I have committed that same crime in my younger days, when I too thought myself to be invincible.

Tatupu is displaying the appropriate level of contrition and I'm sure he will learn from this and bounce back.

Good point, quite a bit of my friends and I have driven home times when we should not have. I guess it is more of society thing.

But if I did have millions of dollars coming in, I would just get a driver to take car of that worry.

[firstdown]

Originally Posted by Stuck in TX

I love the NFL. IMO, there is no better sport. I would love to be able to say its the best organization harboring the best sport on the planet... but this just keeps happening. Baseball's got its steroids, Basketball's got its high school dropouts and crybabies, and hockey, well, no one watches hockey. The NFL is getting the image that its full of thugs, and drunk drivers. Tatupu may have been an isolated incident, but so was Benson, Tank Johnson, D. Rhodes, Chris Henry......... you all get the picture! Come on guys, you are making the whole organization a laughing stock!

As for image GOlf has them all hands down. I can only think of John Daly when asking about golfers getting in trouble.

[Cowell]

Originally Posted by firstdown

As for image GOlf has them all hands down. I can only think of John Daly when asking about golfers getting in trouble.

Of course golf has them all hands down. The culture around golf is the polar opposite of all other professional sports. For one you don't hear about the young guy who made it out of the ghetto playing golf...

[Coff]

Originally Posted by onlydarksets

According to the states, DUI rates are around 15% nationwide. That would put it at 300 for the NFL to meet the average.
DWI/DUI: Driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, SAMHSA's Office of Applied Studies website

That's 15% of the population, including people of all ages. Because the age range in the NFL is much smaller than the nation as a whole, the number would be far less than 300. In other words, a typical person would have a 15% chance of getting a DUI over the course of their entire life (say, from 18 years of age to 70 years of age). The chances of getting a DUI between the ages of 22-35 is therefore much less.

[onlydarksets]

Originally Posted by Coff

That's 15% of the population, including people of all ages. Because the age range in the NFL is much smaller than the nation as a whole, the number would be far less than 300. In other words, a typical person would have a 15% chance of getting a DUI over the course of their entire life (say, from 18 years of age to 70 years of age). The chances of getting a DUI between the ages of 22-35 is therefore much less.

You've misunderstood my post and the study I linked to - the study isn't about getting arrested for DUI, it's about Driving Under the Influence (whether you are caught or not). With that understanding, the chances of driving under the influence are probably much higher for those between 22-35, which would be far more than 300. Also, this study includes females, who are statistically less likely to drive under the influence. This would also increase the percentage of players who would have to drive under the influence in order to be equal to the general public.

So, you raise a good point, but it supports my argument.