I know it’s going back in time, but with everything that’s going on, I couldn’t help but think back to my most hated athlete of all time: Leonard Little. After leaving a birthday party drunk in 1998, Little crashed into and killed Susan Gutweiler in St. Louis. When tested, his blood alcohol level measured 0.19, which exceeds the statutory level of intoxication of 0.08 in the state of Missouri. Little received a measly 90 days in jail, four years probation and 1000 hours of community service. Six years later, Little was again arrested for drunk driving and speeding. Police filed a statement saying Little had bloodshot and watery eyes, smelled of alcohol and failed three sobriety tests. Because of Little’s 1999 guilty plea to involuntary manslaughter in his drunken-driving crash case, prosecutors charged him as a persistent offender. This made it a felony case. Little was acquitted of driving while intoxicated, and was convicted only of the misdemeanor speeding charge. Little killed someone and served 90 days in jail; with only a slap on the wrist Little apparently didn’t learn his lesson, for good reason I guess. Severe crimes, with virtually no punishment. Talk about Law and Order.

Recently, we have had the privilege to read about athletes gone criminal with the likes of Michael Vick, Donte Stallworth and Plaxico Burress. Let’s just review. Vick just finished up close to a two year sentence for heading a dog fighting ring. He served his time and is now looking for a second chance in the NFL. In Vick’s case I believe the punishment fit the crime.

Stallworth is receiving 30 days in jail, probation, and community service. He killed a man while driving drunk. Talk about a blunder in the law, its Leonard Little all over again. I keep hearing legal experts defend such a lenient punishment, saying that he cooperated with the law, that he has a clean record, and that the family wanted this issue quickly resolved. I don’t care if this guy was a saint, how does he not only get a DUI, but also kills a man and only gets 30 days in jail? How can anyone justify this? Vick gets 2 years for running a dog fighting ring, and Stallworth gets a month in jail for killing a human being.

Now to the last pending case: Plaxico Burress. Burress suffered an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound when his pistol began sliding down his leg; apparently in reaching for the gun he inadvertently pressed the trigger, causing the gun to fire. The following Monday, Burress eventually turned himself in to police to face charges of criminal possession of a handgun. Plaxico didn’t have a New York license to carry a concealed weapon. The minimum punishment for unlawfully carrying a handgun is 3½ years. Even Mayor Bloomberg has chimed into this ordeal saying that if Burress doesn’t face the fullest extent of the punishment that it would be making “a mockery of the law”. Bloomberg makes it sound like it’s a pretty straight forward penalty, carry an unlicensed handgun and go to jail for 3 ½ years. So how is it possible that Plaxico does not receive that same penalty? It seems like the only the person doing something about these athletes is Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner. While he doesn’t have a say in the legal system, in the NFL he’s the judge, jury and executioner and doing one heck of a job.

Oh, by the way, the man responsible for stealing Lance Armstrong’s bike is facing 3 years in prison. Going to jail for stealing a bicycle. At least someone is facing the wrath of the law. With the majority of today’s athletes receiving little to no punishment for such crimes, it’s no surprise that some of these guys make bonehead mistake after bonehead mistake. It’s time for the rich and famous to receive the same punishment as the average citizen.

Law and Order from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

With the Packers out of the running, should Favre really come back?  Or is this just an old man who wants to keep playing the game he loves?  As Favre was contemplating coming out of retirement, it made me think of other great athletes who came back after calling it quits.

Mario Lemieux, Sugar Ray, Ryne Sandberg, Floyd Mayweather, Zinedine Zidane, Lance Armstrong, Michael Jordan…did it twice.  Why do great athletes retire only to shortly return to the games they retired from?  Do they all have that “itch” to return as Brett Favre recently stated?  Why do they even retire in the first place?

Although the reasons vary for each individual player as to why they retired, the one thing they all have in common is that they were still key contributors to whatever team they rejoined.  After retiring to play baseball, Michael Jordan came back to lead the Bulls to win several more championships before he retired again.  His second comeback to Washington was not as successful but he still averaged over 25 ppg and helped build the Wizards franchise.  Zidane, retired from International soccer in 2004, only to come back three years later to help the French barely make the World Cup in 2008.  ”Zizou” went on to lead the French to the World Cup finals before his famous head butt.  We all know about Lance Armstrong.  One of the great stories in all of sports, Lance came out of retirement after successful cancer treatment to win seven yellow jerseys in the Tour De France. Many other athletes have come back to still be successful; however, others (like Ryne Sandberg) have returned to show their age and struggle.

After an amazing 13-3 season allowing Green Bay to host the NFC championship game last season, some questioned why Brett retired. It seemed as if the Packers pushed him out.  Now, after preparing UC-Berkeley product Aaron Rogers to start the 2008 campaign, Brett wants back in.  The Packers seem to be moving on without Favre, but would they release him and watch him lead another team to a possible championship?  Only time will tell, and the sooner the better for Brett Favre’s career and the Packers organization.

Let me know what you think.  Should Favre return to the NFL with another team? Will the Packers release him? Does he have the arm strength to play another year?

When Should Athletes Retire? from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules