Originally posted by Pillbusta:
No need to dramatize what Aldon did. That's been done enough. He has made horrible decisions. The most dangerous being driving drunk IMO. Yet still he has never been a violent offender. He didn't buy those guns to be a thug or a banger. He bought them because he was a young guy with money and he thought it would be cool to own em because he could. His crime is not knowing to modify them by law. His responsibility and he failed. Still no need to cook him on a first offense. The DUI was more serious and he sought treatment on his own. LAX is dead. I initially thought 2 to 4 games this spring but after LAX died and his sentencing has concluded I think he gets 1 game most likely because he has served 5 weeks already. I see a max of two games. If he gets mores so be it but Aldon was young and this occurred TWO YEARS AGO! I think Aldon is not some evil guy but was just immature and stupid. He seems to have grown aplenty from his ordeals
No drama. You are right he made horrible decisions. He did what he did.
But, dang come on. Be real.
What offense exactly are you referring to when you say for his first offense.
Aldon has been convicted of five misdemeanors, not one.
His reasons for buying the guns are both irrelevant to the charges and unknown to us.
The guns were illegal in California. The fact that the California gun laws are stupid makes no difference.
I also do not think that he should be suspended, but I am absolutely unwilling to pretend that he did not make serious mistakes.
Every player in the league knows, or has no reason for not knowing, what the consequences of their actions might be.
Aldon screwed up. He has taken the steps required to eliminate his problems and the courts have imposed legal remedies that reinforce his own actions.
At the end of the day, the time that he lost in his rehab and the sentence from the courts is more than sufficient.
At this point, I do not think a suspension would service any useful purpose.
But, there are no excuses for the decisions that he made.
[ Edited by buck on Aug 7, 2014 at 2:48 AM ]