Vince will always be among my all time Longhorn heros. I will always consider him the greatest QB I've ever watched and I will equally always believe that given a different circumstance he could have been a QB in the NFL. I go only by his W/L record and the few games I got to watch in person during his first two years. He certainly was as good as some playing the position today. Nevertheless his behavior now re:drinking, is destructive and inexcusable. I drink, unfortunately all my adult children drink. They have learned (thank God) to be completely responsible when it comes to seeking out driving options - prior to partying, be it uber, taxi or friends. It very much impresses me because I was not that mature when I was their age, I just never got caught.
Isn't this a separate issue though? Plenty of alcoholics manage to not operate a vehicle while intoxicated. Plenty of people who make the choice to drive while in a drunken state aren't addicted.
Report is not yet imaged and viewable...since the article makes no reference, I am curious whether warrant was obtained for a blood draw. Had he blown at the time of booking, I am reasonably certain there would have been reference to BAC. Absent a blood draw, it will come down to how he came across on video...lots of people do themselves in on these cases precisely because they are idiots in front of the camera. The DWI suspect (and remember, that is ALL he is at the moment) who is courteous on camera often winds up with no conviction where there is no evidence of the elevated blood alcohol content...
Some people’s speeding or road rage is more dangerous than some people’s .08 DWI. (Vince seemed way past that—stopped with flashers on?) Some speeding is basically harmless; some examples of going through a red light are basically harmless and others are almost attempted murder. I’m just saying that it’s hard to say—as a general proposition— that a second DWI arrest, after apparently a low level pleadout of the first incident, necessarily proves a person to be dangerous, a loser, or an alcoholic. (I’m not specifying this to Vince Young.). Obviously, however, that’s the first issue a person should be asking himself in the mirror.
So glad to see that the notions of due process and presumptions of innocence remain alive and well around here... /sarcasm mode off
[Mack] And, that's fair[/Brown] VY's track record, unfortunately, doesn't lend itself to believing this didn't happen, and, also, this is not a court of law around here. <---oops
I'm in the camp that thinks if you've been caught twice, chances are extremely high that you skated numerous other times. With that said, yes, VY has due process rights and the presumption of innocence.
There were times I don't even remember getting in my car much less making a choice. I drove in black outs all the time and never got a DWI. Different times. I was lucky not to kill someone or myself. I rear ended a car at a red light in a black out and the cop let me drive home. So, no, I don't know of alcoholics making good choices when it comes to driving.
Im working on 37 years clean and sober. But as Moon can attest to, there is no way that he or I could ever explain to a "civilian" (what my first AA sponsor called people who could drink normally or.....gasp....not at all...wtf?), how the mind of an addict works. I was 6'4", charming, had a great job, making a ton of money.....it was the 1970's and early 1980's. My two DUI's were looked at as sort of a joke. Then it all caught up. The great job, the money, the friends. All gone. So I embarked on "the last great binge of 1982". When I was admitted to the treatment center I weighed 152 pounds. At 6'4". Had that POW look to me. When I got sober, it never occurred to me that I would still be sober 36+ years later. There are a number of studies that indicate that up to 10% of the population is chemically addicted. Be they the "Friday night Happy Hour" drunks, the pass out every night drunks/pillheads, et al. I don't know where VY falls into this. My great hope is that he gets help before he kills himself or someone else. As for those that wish to turn their backs on him..wow. Just...wow. I can't speak for Moon, but a lot of us have those people that we classify as BDA. Before, During, After. The ones who hung around, supported me in my recovery and loved me at my most unlovable. I'm hoping Vince has a lot of them around him. The guy is sick. He has a problem. I can never give back to him what he gave to me for those three years. All I can do is pray for him and love him at his most unlovable. Oh, and the guy won 62% of the games he started in the NFL.
Did he realize mid-flight that, hey, I am drunk and I need to stop driving right now? Flashers on sounds like a good idea given the vehicle was black. This seems like responsible behavior to me, the part about driving in the first place notwithstanding.
As of this morning, the case appears in the Fort Bend records as 'unfiled.' There has been the posting of a bond and no settings until the end of May. It is not usually until a conviction for the fifth or sixth DWI that any meaningful consequence is ever attached to allegations of DWI. The first two are typically a misdemeanor, although this changes if you are either over .15BAC or there is a child under 15 in the vehicle. The former makes a DWI 1st a Class A (see the case with the Travis County DA from a few years ago) while the latter is a State Jail Felony. Often, the first is a Class B misdemeanor that is pleaded out to three days in jail with credit for the time awaiting bond, which moots out the sentence through time-served provisions. The second is often resolved in a similar manner. DWI 3rd will be a felony but typically results in a probation disposition. Only after the fourth or fifth do you start seeing real consequence looming on the horizon.
If you did, wouldn't you be drinking heavily now? Vince is a great, kind person, who did a lot of nice things for a lot of people. He also won us a title. Given his background and rise to fame and fortune, I'd say give him a friggin break.
In no way did I insinuate it was a shock. Given the level of hypocrisy of so many here I expected nothing less.
The lack of responses comment was directed to that point. 2nd post with comparison to Murray. Sorry you were unable to pick up on it. For the record I unequivocally disapprove of Vince's decision and behavior.
^^^ Fisher was the worst thing to happen to Vince’s career. BUT Vince’s problems since have been his own fault. Hope he turns things around before kills himself or someone else.
I know of a third DWI resulting in 10 year sentence. Given the chance to fulfill 5 years probation, thousands in fines and 2 years intensive out patient treatment. But one slip up and off to the big house to serve the 10. Williamson County.
Honestly I think it's different with VY than even other UT players. Because of the national Championship and his ongoing association with UT we're bonded and connected more to him as fans. Hypocrisy is definitely possible. But mostly I think it's just bias. I have opinions about different choices, but if my son was involved I'd rally around him. I'm biased and connected. That's not hypocrisy; it's bias. You'll see posters on here talking about the idiocy of recruits that are committed to the Horns. That's the opposite of hypocrisy. But that kid isn't connected to us yet so there's no bias. I think it's good to understand the difference between the two. Hypocrisy is a politician denouncing gay marriage publicly while telling his gay child that he supports whatever they do Hypocrisy is a pastor preaching on purity while schtooping his secretary. Hypocrisy is not being sad when someone you feel connected to makes a terrible decision and it makes you sad and not want to talk about it.
If they had five years of supervision, then the ONLY way a violation turns to 10 TDCJ would have been for the five to have been a deferred. Screw up a deferred and the entirety of the penalty range is back on the table. Screw up a probation and the TDCJ cap is the probation term. But pen time on DWI 3rd is the exception rather than the norm. The lack of consequences argument is something we frequently use in presenting cases to the Board (parole is my bread and butter).
Yes, it was deferred. The Judge was Ken Anderson who wrongly convicted Michael Morton for killing his wife and later pled no contest to tampering with evidence.
MANY judges view it as a personal affront when a defendant pisses away a chance to walk away from a case with no conviction...we saw this some years back in Dallas when a two-year deferred was adjudicated to the full first-degree term of 99 years in prison. Add in that WilCo has long been a County that gave sentences longer than the norm and it does not surprise me, the Anderson component of the equation notwithstanding.
