I don’t know about you, but I’m so sick of seeing news headlines about professional sports players involved in accidents and being arrested but expecting to get a free pass because of who they are. Nobody is entitled to a get out of jail free card, especially if you’ve actually done something grossly negligent or illegal.
You may have heard about this story not too long ago where a football player (former Las Vegas Raider Henry Ruggs III) was driving his expensive sportscar well over a hundred miles an hour (156 to be exact) on a residential street in Las Vegas, with his “girlfriend” in the car when he hit someone in an SUV and sent her flying about 50 yards. When the police showed up the “girlfriend” kept asking about the driver of HER car and not once in the minute and a half video I saw did she even inquire about the person in the other car, who happened to burn up when the car caught fire and she couldn’t get out. Her dog also died. At the scene, Mr. Ruggs asked everyone to “withhold judgment,” until they knew the whole story, which included the fact that he was intoxicated at the time, which he conveniently omitted (and he refused a blood test). Say what? Your first thought is “withhold judgment” rather than, “Please pray for the family of that woman who died so tragically because of me?” Sorry, I’m not withholding judgment; you’re an entitled piece of shit.
Another football player (another Las Vegas Raider, Nate Hobbs) was arrested for DUI on January 3rd of this year and just a few weeks later, he was caught driving 110 MPH on a Nevada highway. Video footage captured him pleading with the arresting officer not to arrest him because he had just been arrested three weeks earlier and he couldn’t be arrested again. Um, what now? Maybe try slowing down you dumbass. And not consuming alcohol before getting behind the wheel of a car. And maybe try playing for a different team; the Raiders seem to have lots of troublesome players.
The fact that this is his second offense in two weeks does not make me any more sympathetic to him. In fact, I say throw the maximum sentence at him, forbid him from playing sports, throw his ass in jail. A monetary penalty won’t hurt this guy. He’s undoubtedly got millions in the bank. A monetary penalty won’t hurt him at all. Take away his driving privileges and kick him off the team. Make it hurt. There will be no lesson learned if there is no pain involved. Obviously, he didn’t learn from the first arrest.
I seriously think these guys should have to pay reparations to the victims or their families (if there are any). Mr. Ruggs should have paid for the young woman’s funeral and be at the mercy of her family; letting them choose his punishment. I’ll bet they would have shown no mercy and not withheld judgment even if they were “fans” of the team. His “girlfriend,” who showed absolutely no remorse or concern for the real victims, should have to work at the morgue or in some other similar job until she has a real understanding of the value of human life. This was an absolutely preventable “accident.” The good news is that the Raiders did release Mr. Ruggs, although I’m guessing it’s pretty hard to play football while in prison, cause that’s undoubtedly where he’s going.
This is probably an unpopular opinion, but in my book, professional athletes, and actors, and high-ranking public officials, really ought to be held to a HIGHER standard than the average Joe. Young people look up to these larger-than-life personalities as leaders and role models so they should be exemplary in their conduct. What kind of a message is being sent when these athletes or actors get caught breaking laws, but they simply get a slap on the wrist and go about their business as usual? There are no consequences if you’re rich or famous. The consequences really should be triple what they are for the average person. If you want the privilege of playing professional sports, act like it. If you achieve a level of stardom above the average person, conduct yourself in a professional manner because the eyes of the world are on you. If you’re blessed with talent or speed or strength, shouldn’t you do whatever you can to protect that asset, not drive recklessly around while intoxicated? Shouldn’t you show the world how thankful you are to be a “star,” by acting like a decent human being instead of being entitled to things you are not because of your status?
I know they are just people, like the rest of us, but are they? Really? They are all human – sure – but are they like the rest of us? Do we drive top of the line Corvettes? Do we live in multi-million-dollar mansions in gated communities surrounded by private security? Are our faces recognized around the world? Do we get airtime on public television? Do we expect to get away with bad behavior when we get caught simply because of who we are? No. No we do not. We scrape by the best we can and expect to pay the consequences for our actions if we screw up. Money or position have nothing to do with consequences. The consequences should be the same for everybody.
Anyway, I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty sick and tired of seeing these horrible news stories followed by interviews with the “stars,” who cry their sob stories and beg for sympathy asking that the public withhold judgment because they made a mistake. I know life isn’t fair, but punishment should be equal for all crimes no matter who committed them. Suck it up buttercup and make a better choice next time.
What say you guys? Do you think celebrities use their status to get out of certain unpleasant circumstances? Should that be allowed? Should they be held to a higher standard? There is no right or wrong answer here.
I’ve got some exciting things planned for the year that only my newsletter followers will know about. I promise you’ll only get 6 newsletters for the entire year, so I won’t clutter up your inbox. Here’s the link if you want to sign up and be the first to know things: http://bit.ly/JansenSchmidtNewsletter
Word of the Day: Bellicose
Fun fact about me: I don’t have a very high opinion of celebrities and I’m not a “fangirl” for anyone. And, my standards are probably a little bit too high. Too bad.
Original post by Jansen Schmidt, March 2022. Images by Google, Associated Press and giphy.com
jansenschmidt 
You do realize that NFL stands for the “National Felons League” right? What’s worse, these young groupies, enamored by the glitz and the money, and then in intimate relationships with these guys (or even married) end up getting knocked out cold in elevators eventually. But more to your point, there finally seems to be some accountability happening in recent times. Long overdue however. It’s very hard to go from ghetto or poverty to fame and fortune and not have a skewed outlook. I’m not apologizing for them, just saying it’s a massive pitfall that many of them have no skill in negotiating. My understanding is that the NFL has mandatory classes for rookies about handling sudden fame and fortune. But you just can’t get through to all of them…some barely out of their teens. Good post.
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And that is precisely why we should NOT be paying these guys exorbitant amounts of money. It’s ridiculous to hand millions of dollars to – well – babies essentially, who have no clue how to manage money or how to handle fame. I think many think the money and fame is their ticket to do whatever they want because of who they are.
Anyway, enough about that. I’ve said my piece. So many things wrong with the world.
Have a lovely day.
Patricia
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For the longest time, I’ve wanted to gain possession of Wonder Woman’s magical whip that makes people tell the full truth so justice could be dealt exactly as they deserve. We’re all imperfect people who make all sorts of mistakes, but no one wants to get caught, right? And, forgiveness or not, there are consequences to our actions. When it comes to people who have a greater influence over the general public, it’s my humble opinion that they should hold themselves to a higher standard because other, easily-impressed people are impacted by so much of what they do…which isn’t the case at all, unfortunately. But that leads me to have a much greater respect for those who are classy, on and off the screen/field!
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Sounds like we’re of like mind. I don’t know if he’s ever been in trouble and someone has looked the other way, but Michael Jordan comes to mind. He seems to have kept his nose clean and his mouth shut. I admire him all the more for it. He will always be, in my mind, the greatest basketball player of all time because of it. Sure other can play just as well (probably) but they can’t seem to stay out of the spotlight.
Anyway, this is just one of many things that are wrong in the world. Everyone has to stand before the pearly gates at some point. That’s the final judgment.
Have a wonderful rest of the week.
Patricia
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