ESPN is reporting Braylon Edwards was arrested Tuesday morning for allegedly driving while intoxicated. His blood alcohol was .16, twice the legal limit.
Not only was he allegedly driving drunk, he had four passengers whose lives he was endangering.
Despite this, Chris Mortensen later tweeted that Edwards' DWI does not fall under the players' Personal Conduct Policy. Apparently, DUI is under the substance policy. With that in mind, Edwards probably won't be suspended because it's his first offense.
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| Maybe Edwards will blame all his drops on the booze. |
How does that no cover driving drunk with people in the car? A drunk person behind the wheel of a car definitely "imposes inherent danger to the safety of and well being of another person." There are other drivers, pedestrians and his passengers who are all in danger.
You can find the Personal Conduct policy here.
A DWI is also a black stain on the league. If Goodell is going to enforce punishments for violating this Personal Conduct Policy, he has to do it consistently. I like the policy. It's a great way to try and get players to not act stupidly, or act as if they are above the law. The problem comes when players like Edwards and Shaun Rogers, who tried to take a loaded and cocked gun through an airport, are not suspended and other players are.
This is not a rant that will end in me saying Ben Roethlisberger should not have been suspended. According to the policy, Goodell had every right to suspend him. But Goodell needs to be consistent. And he can start with suspending Edwards if he pleads guilty or no contest.
Cheap Trick - Dream Police
Goodell's conduct policy is ridiculously inconsistent and has been since he started enforcing it. Edwards may get nothing, Shaun Rogers may get nothing, but Tank Johnson got 10 games one year. His policy is so widely inconsistent, probably because Gary Bettman is involved somehow.
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