It Reads "Thou Shall Not Kill"

The incident revolving the Dallas Cowboys and Josh Brent is about someone who made a terrible decision and took the life of another person. Does it matter so, so much how we got to that point? You wouldn't think so.

After I woke up this morning, I got myself an apple (a rare occurrence, but one that happened because I lost a lot of weight recently since I live at college and take pride in finally learning how to grill a burger), poured a glass of milk and turned on ESPN. Mike and Mike in the Morning was on, something I haven't seen in a long time, again since I live at college and rarely am awake before 10 a.m. I used to watch this show every morning before school and love the chemistry between Golic and Greeny. I even read Greeny's book, Why My Wife Thinks I'm An Idiot, and it was actually pretty damn good.




But this morning, I turned it on at an interesting point in the program. The two Mike's were arguing about a hot topic in the sports world recently, the DUI accident involving Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Josh Brent and teammate Jerry Brown. Brent is being charged with intoxication manslaughter as a result of killing Brown in a car accident two weeks ago. Brent's BAC level was .18, an astonishing number to get behind the wheel of anything with, let alone a car. 

The Dallas Cowboys recently announced that Brent will be banned from the sidelines for the remainder of the season, news that is actually shocking and controversial to people. How? This man killed another human being and drove under the influence, heavily under the influence. Yet, the fact that two weeks after committing this felony he is not allowed on the sidelines of an NFL game is surprising or too harsh? As Gob Bluth would say, Come On!!

Greeny was arguing on the show that this was no accident, and Golic went as far as comparing it to homicide and the Jovan Belcher situation. Belcher was a linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs who killed his girlfriend a month ago, only before taking his own life in a case that is still looking for answers. To compare this to that is a bit heinous and nonsensical. These are not the same crimes. One was intentional murder and suicide. but that does not discredit what happened in the Brent case. In both situations, a crime was committed and life was lost. Isn't that the means end all?

Am I missing something here to believe that Brent should not only be banned from the sideline, but should not be permitted back in the NFL? Maybe it is too harsh to instill a lifetime ban on the guy to some or most people, but I am fully behind that. The fact that Donte Stallworth is still in the league sickens me. The man was involved in intoxication homicide and got out of jail thirty days later. He killed an innocent human being, and was in jail for thirty days. How long does a j-walker do time for?

The special treatment players get in sports, not just in the NFL (although certainly more often) is not helping to get rid of or ease the problem at hand. The excuse "he has obvious problems, we can't punish him" is repulsive. The man is an adult, he made the decision to get behind the wheel of a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, which is a FELONY, and he killed a man. He is responsible for the death of another human being at the hands of a very shitty decision that he made himself. Now, I understand the guilt that he now has to carry with him every second of every minute of every day is unfathomable, but that is not enough. He needs to be punished for his actions like any regular, non-football player would be. 

Take for example if I got behind the wheel while drunk and killed a person. Would I be allowed back at work two weeks later while on trial for intoxication manslaughter? Hell no, mostly because I would have most likely lost that job by than. The president of my high school received a DUI while I was attending there, did not murder anybody, and was still threatened with dismissal by just about every parent and even administration. But he is not playing in the NFL, so that's why.

To stand up for Brent and to claim that he needs counsel is fine, the man definitely does as anyone would in his situation. But the bottom line is he made a mistake, he needs to own up to it and do the time, and the time does not involve him standing on the sidelines of an NFL game. Golic's argument that this crime was an accident is a little stray. Sure, it was a car "accident", but Brent knew he was drunk and would be driving a car. He knew that was illegal. He did it anyway. 

He killed a human being. In my eyes, that's enough for at least a three week hiatus from the sidelines of an NFL game.