Kenny Lawler Suspension & RETURN!!

[blue_gold_84]

Imagine defending anyone for driving under the influence.

[Jesse]

I don't get it.
The guy isn't a criminal.
Like many guys he drinks and drives.
Why are they picking on him three years later.  This seems like a violation of the his legal rights or human rights.  We are supposed to be dealt  with in a timely manner.  Fine him, pay restitution if vehicle damage, and pay the hospital bills of any injured person.

This is an old school breaking of the law.  Breath-a- lyzer had him blow over a certain amount.= guilty. I guess?
OK we are spending thousands of dollars when we could fine the guy, and lesson learned.  Save the tax payer all kind of money

Young adults make mistakes.  Taking away a guys livelihood seems like the punishment does not fit the crime.

First of all, it is a crime. If he injured someone, he would likely have done jail time and would probably not have played football again.

We don't know exactly what the issue is here, but it's something to do with the consequences of his own actions which does not at all define a "violation of human rights". He'll deal with it and hopeful be back once whatever penance is served.

[Buck]

I don't get it.
The guy isn't a criminal.
Like many guys he drinks and drives.
Why are they picking on him three years later.  This seems like a violation of the his legal rights or human rights.  We are supposed to be dealt  with in a timely manner.  Fine him, pay restitution if vehicle damage, and pay the hospital bills of any injured person.

This is an old school breaking of the law.  Breath-a- lyzer had him blow over a certain amount.= guilty. I guess?
OK we are spending thousands of dollars when we could fine the guy, and lesson learned.  Save the tax payer all kind of money

Young adults make mistakes.  Taking away a guys livelihood seems like the punishment does not fit the crime.

He isn't having his livelihood taken away, but he is facing consequences for making a stupid decision.  If I got a DUI, I would lose my job no questions asked. Just because "many guys drink and drive" doesn't mean that is isn't a serious issue.  Just because nobody was hurt doesn't mean it was okay. I can't wait until drinking and driving is taken seriously, I have no respect for people who think its okay.

[Lincoln Locomotive]

No sense in speculating what will go down or what actually went down....however that still doesn't diminish my disappointment!    Let's hope Agudosi can stay healthy and help us get over this with a stellar showing!    

[theaardvark]

I don't get it.
The guy isn't a criminal.
Like many guys he drinks and drives.
Why are they picking on him three years later.  This seems like a violation of the his legal rights or human rights.  We are supposed to be dealt  with in a timely manner.  Fine him, pay restitution if vehicle damage, and pay the hospital bills of any injured person.

This is an old school breaking of the law.  Breath-a- lyzer had him blow over a certain amount.= guilty. I guess?
OK we are spending thousands of dollars when we could fine the guy, and lesson learned.  Save the tax payer all kind of money

Young adults make mistakes.  Taking away a guys livelihood seems like the punishment does not fit the crime.

Your take is no, just no...

Impaired driving is a serious offense, and it does require a serious penalty. Innocent people die in DUI incidents, and i should not be taken as "young adults make mistakes".  This is a "mistake" NO ONE should make, ever.

So, your justification of his actions is not valid, sorry.  I get your mindset, but impaired driving is NOT accepted as an oopsie in our society today, and the CFL takes it very seriously, as well they should.


As to the meting out of justice, not knowing the exact specifics of the case, I can only conjecture based on what we've been told.

It sounds like it was Lawler that did not handle the incident appropriately, and is now having to deal with the consequences.  I'm sure, had all court appearances been met, he would have received his fines and this would be in the past.  He was on an entry level deal when he was here, and probably didn't have lots of cash to throw at lawyers and fines, and probably hoped it would just go away.  And now, he's paying the piper.

He was in town twice last year, wondering why he wasn't detained then... maybe it hadn't escalated yet?

Hopefully, this time, he takes appropriate steps to resolve the issue, and hopefully does not get any additional punishment for his apparent attempted evasion.

[Blue In BC]

Rhetorically speaking was there an accident or injury to anyone? I'm not trying to downplay the seriousness of any DUI.

[blue_gold_84]

Rhetorically speaking was there an accident or injury to anyone? I'm not trying to downplay the seriousness of any DUI.

IIRC, there were no injuries. Just a minor incident in which the authorities attended and laid charges.

[Horseman]

It is unusual that it will take 3-4 weeks to resolve, this seems to indicate Kenny maybe taking this matter to trial rather than a simple guilty plea. If Kenny was pleading guilty they could have had him in court within the week and he would be sentenced, usually a $1200 fine and suspension of his drivers licence for a year and having to take a impaired driving session through MPIC based on a first offence.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Your take is no, just no...

Impaired driving is a serious offense, and it does require a serious penalty. Innocent people die in DUI incidents, and i should not be taken as "young adults make mistakes".  This is a "mistake" NO ONE should make, ever.

So, your justification of his actions is not valid, sorry.  I get your mindset, but impaired driving is NOT accepted as an oopsie in our society today, and the CFL takes it very seriously, as well they should.


As to the meting out of justice, not knowing the exact specifics of the case, I can only conjecture based on what we've been told.

It sounds like it was Lawler that did not handle the incident appropriately, and is now having to deal with the consequences.  I'm sure, had all court appearances been met, he would have received his fines and this would be in the past.  He was on an entry level deal when he was here, and probably didn't have lots of cash to throw at lawyers and fines, and probably hoped it would just go away.  And now, he's paying the piper.

He was in town twice last year, wondering why he wasn't detained then... maybe it hadn't escalated yet?

Hopefully, this time, he takes appropriate steps to resolve the issue, and hopefully does not get any additional punishment for his apparent attempted evasion.

Good point, there would be no follow up story if Lawler had jumped through the legal hoops required at the time. Kenny promised to be a good boy, but couldn't execute. I'm not sure the Bombers can dismiss a second violation of personal integrity easily, it reflects on the character of the organization if they excuse or diminish the accountability of a person of questionable character, especially when it comes to an issue as contentious as drunk driving. 

[the paw]

The other possibility is that he has already dealt with the charges, but maybe not the visa implications.

Getting a DUI would normally get your admissibility revoked, although I am sure that exceptions are made (Charleston Hughes, Ellingson, and that SK QB come to mind) but I am sure you would have to make special application to the immigration people.  Teams help players with visa issues all the time, and this one may have slipped through the cracks in the switching of teams.  It would not surprise me that it would take 3-4 weeks to get that resolved.

[Blue In BC]

It is unusual that it will take 3-4 weeks to resolve, this seems to indicate Kenny maybe taking this matter to trial rather than a simple guilty plea. If Kenny was pleading guilty they could have had him in court within the week and he would be sentenced, usually a $1200 fine and suspension of his drivers licence for a year and having to take a impaired driving session through MPIC based on a first offence.

Is that what the resolutions are in Manitoba for a 1st offence? Good on the province for making a strong point.

Aside from possibly wanting to go to trial as a matter of principle, he's losing about $14K per game missed. So I don't see that as what's happening.

Taking 3 - 4 weeks does seem unusual. I'm not a lawyer but think there might be a difference in a DUI in Canada versus in the USA. IIRC one in the USA creates a visa issue. There have been other Americans with DUI's in Canada that have not been prevented from being in Canada.

[theaardvark]

The other possibility is that he has already dealt with the charges, but maybe not the visa implications.

Getting a DUI would normally get your admissibility revoked, although I am sure that exceptions are made (Charleston Hughes, Ellingson, and that SK QB come to mind) but I am sure you would have to make special application to the immigration people.  Teams help players with visa issues all the time, and this one may have slipped through the cracks in the switching of teams.  It would not surprise me that it would take 3-4 weeks to get that resolved.

Great point, I did not think of that.  He may have done everything right at the time, and just did not deal with the work Visa issue.  I hope that's the case.  That does seem more likely, the time frame for dealing with anything immigration or passport related is horrible right now...  had there been legal issues outstanding, they would have been easier to deal with.

It would have been so much easier had the club or Lawler just told us what the issue was.  Its not like it is going to stay a secret, and our conjectures are probably far worse than what is really going on.

[Pigskin]

Not sure why the Bombers didn't check with KL89 to make sure that all of this was taken care off before signing him? Or did they and he miss lead them?

[pjrocksmb]

Not sure why the Bombers didn't check with KL89 to make sure that all of this was taken care off before signing him? Or did they and he miss lead them?

Interesting take, we might never know.

I wouldn't go that far.

It sounds like Agudosi will slide in until Lawler returns.

It's unfortunate but shouldn't hinder the team too much. And it'll probably mean Lawler will be even more fired up when he does return.

I agree this whole turn of events is whack. I thought that whole incident had been resolved long ago.

Agree.

I didn't mean it quite that way but it is a blow to the team.  Just that it was an abrupt unplanned stop.

It may be that he thought this was resolved in 2021 and unaware of further action needed. It didn't seem to impact his work visa in 2022, so we'll have to wait and see what the consequences turn out to be.

Yup let's hope it's resolved

I don't get it.
The guy isn't a criminal.
Like many guys he drinks and drives.
Why are they picking on him three years later.  This seems like a violation of the his legal rights or human rights.  We are supposed to be dealt  with in a timely manner.  Fine him, pay restitution if vehicle damage, and pay the hospital bills of any injured person.

This is an old school breaking of the law.  Breath-a- lyzer had him blow over a certain amount.= guilty. I guess?
OK we are spending thousands of dollars when we could fine the guy, and lesson learned.  Save the tax payer all kind of money

Young adults make mistakes.  Taking away a guys livelihood seems like the punishment does not fit the crime.

I find the tone this post a little much.  Just because as you state that "many guys drink and drive" it doesn't justify what he did.  He broke the law and got caught.  Drinking and driving can be a criminal offense as per below from GOM website (likely similar elsewhere)

"Criminal Charges and Consequences upon Conviction
In addition to the immediate consequences listed above for impaired driving, you can also be charged with criminal offences such as:

Driving while Impaired by Drugs or Alcohol
Driving with a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) equal to or over .08"

Pro athletes are role models and must carry themselves in a way that positively reflect the league and the team they play for.

You are under stating the seriousness of drinking and driving.  Lives can and have been lost. You don't get a free pass because you are young and made a mistake.  You have to face the consequences of your actions at any age.

Like others have stated we don't have all the facts and I haven't followed this situation that closely to know all the details either.  We might know more in a month and I trust that Kenny and the Bombers will ensure things are taken care of once and for all.

I support the move by the Bombers, shows courage and leadership and I hope all parties can resolve this asap.

Full disclosure, my family has a history of alcoholism and I have been sober for 5 or 6 years, I lost count.  I have seen 1st hand what this disease can do to my loved ones and have witnessed the impact that drunk driving has.  Always reach out if you need help and that can include a PM to me if you are in need

[Waffler]

CJOB saying no one from the Bombers is talking about it and the next information will come in 3 to 4 weeks. Most of what is here is speculation. As someone posted there was a minor incident and he was legally over. That's pretty much all we know.