Dallas Cowboys allow Josh Brent to stand on the sidelines

[stlouisfan37]

I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound judgmental, but I really dislike the message that this sends to the world. Jerry Jones tries to play this off like he was just fulfilling the wishes of Jerry Brown's mother, but sometimes you just have to put your foot down and say, "I cannot endorse this."

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/jerry-j...0700--nfl.html

[descendency]

I really think people are making this into something it isn't.

Josh Brent's career is over. He just killed one of his friends. He's going to have to live with that the rest of his life (which I can't even fathom what that is like), with some of that probably in prison. Nothing will change the fact that Jerry Brown is dead.

If he's willing to try to do something positive with his life, then the Cowboys should facilitate it. Just kicking him out will likely not result in anything but a downward spiral, which may be coming anyways.

My initial reaction was the same as yours, but I just have to believe that they are keeping him around because it's what's better for everyone.

[phlysac]

He killed his best friend. I doubt that Brown (Rest his soul) got into the vehicle against his will. The crime is what it is, and Brent will likely see jail time (and rightfully so.) He will regret causing his friend's death for the rest of his life. Brown's mother loves Brent as if he was one of her own. There is a dynamic that is quite different than if Brent had killed an innocent bystander walking along the road or a family traveling in another car.

I don't mean to diminish how terrible and criminal it is to drive under the influence, but sometimes you have to recognize the gray area in each and every circumstance.

[J-Mike88]

I agree with Boomer that this was a disgrace, a huge mistake, to let this guy on the sideline here.
What a bad message it sends.

This bafoon knew right from wrong.
He'd been arrested and charged before for drunk driving, that we know of.
Rumors are there were more stops but he was not arrested. Even if that's false, he had plenty of opportunities to NOT do this.... he is the one100% who caused Brown to DIE, life over period. He killed him.

This man belongs behind bars without question, not on a sideline.

[phlysac]

Originally Posted by J-Mike88

This man belongs behind bars without question, not on a sideline.

He is facing 20 years.

[J-Mike88]

Originally Posted by phlysac

He is facing 20 years.

I wonder if he'd served a little time last time he was arrested if this wouldn't have happened.
The slap on his wrist apparently didn't get the message to him.

[crisco0710]

Originally Posted by J-Mike88

I wonder if he'd served a little time last time he was arrested if this wouldn't have happened.
The slap on his wrist apparently didn't get the message to him.

Supposedly he served 60 days.

[49erNation85]

60 days ain't nothing.

[AntoinCD]

Originally Posted by J-Mike88

I agree with Boomer that this was a disgrace, a huge mistake, to let this guy on the sideline here.
What a bad message it sends.

This bafoon knew right from wrong.
He'd been arrested and charged before for drunk driving, that we know of.
Rumors are there were more stops but he was not arrested. Even if that's false, he had plenty of opportunities to NOT do this.... he is the one100% who caused Brown to DIE, life over period. He killed him.

This man belongs behind bars without question, not on a sideline.

I don't think he should have been there either, but why is Justin Blackmon allowed to play? What about all the other guys who have been arrested for DUI? They all did the same thing as Brent, only difference being he crashed.

Is putting a blindfold on and throwing knives only a bad thing if someone gets hit? The issue is the lack of a deterent, both by the NFL and the legal system to an extent, to driving drunk. There seems to be a bit of a culture of this in the NFL and things like this tragedy are going to happen until it is curtailed.

Not shifting blame from Brent because what he did was disgusting and abhorrent, but because someone died doesn't make his action worse. What Brent did was the same as what Blackmon and countless other NFL stars did. He got behind the wheel of a machine while unfit to drive.

If the NFL isn't going to crack down on drunk driving then they can't take the high ground when someone dies because of this. Brent will rightfully spend a lot of time in jail, but the NFL can't pass judgement on it when they have continuously let things slide on other instances.

[tmljeh19]

Absolutely disgusting that he was allowed to be on the sideline. Sorry you get no pity or simpathy if you're a repeat offender. Dude shouldn't be allowed near the team. What message are you sending to people when you kill someone and you're allowed to continue associating with the team? It's great that Browns mother is forgiving of him but that's matters squat to this topic. Any other team it might surprise me that he was there but with Dallas nothin surprises me in this regard.

[FUNBUNCHER]

If Witten or Romo had been the other passenger in that car, Josh Brent would not have been on the sideline.

Since the deceased was a practice squad guy, Jerruh probably thought most fans couldn't care less.

[tmljeh19]

Originally Posted by FUNBUNCHER

If Witten or Romo had been the other passenger in that car, Josh Brent would not have been on the sideline.

Since the deceased was a practice squad guy, Jerruh probably thought most fans couldn't care less.

Sadly this is probably the case. Could you imagine what would be done to him if it was a starter or a popular player around the league?

[TheFinisher]

All they're doing is trying to support him right now. The guy killed his best friend and will likely do years behind bars because of a terrible choice, his life is hell regardless of where he watched sundays game, but he's still their teammate and he could obviously use support at the moment. The easy thing to do would be to cut him off, but that's not necessarily the humane decision.

No one feels worse about the situation than Josh Brent, he killed his best friend, but he's still a human being and shouldn't be denied support.

[crisco0710]

We can say what we want to say about Jerry and the Cowboys, but the ultimate decision to allow him to be on the sideline came from Goodell.

[FUNBUNCHER]

Goodell didn't make Jerruh allow Josh Brent be on the sidelines with his former teammates.

Let's not act like every NFL franchise would have handled this the same way.
He NEVER would have been seen inside FedEx stadium again if this had happened in D.C.

It was just an odd decision made by that franchise. Whatever.

[Caddy]

Originally Posted by TheFinisher

All they're doing is trying to support him right now. The guy killed his best friend and will likely do years behind bars because of a terrible choice, his life is hell regardless of where he watched sundays game, but he's still their teammate and he could obviously use support at the moment. The easy thing to do would be to cut him off, but that's not necessarily the humane decision.

No one feels worse about the situation than Josh Brent, he killed his best friend, but he's still a human being and shouldn't be denied support.

Support someone who killed his friend. Sounds about right!

[TheFinisher]

Originally Posted by AntoinCD

I don't think he should have been there either, but why is Justin Blackmon allowed to play? What about all the other guys who have been arrested for DUI? They all did the same thing as Brent, only difference being he crashed.

Is putting a blindfold on and throwing knives only a bad thing if someone gets hit? The issue is the lack of a deterent, both by the NFL and the legal system to an extent, to driving drunk. There seems to be a bit of a culture of this in the NFL and things like this tragedy are going to happen until it is curtailed.

Not shifting blame from Brent because what he did was disgusting and abhorrent, but because someone died doesn't make his action worse. What Brent did was the same as what Blackmon and countless other NFL stars did. He got behind the wheel of a machine while unfit to drive.

If the NFL isn't going to crack down on drunk driving then they can't take the high ground when someone dies because of this. Brent will rightfully spend a lot of time in jail, but the NFL can't pass judgement on it when they have continuously let things slide on other instances.

This.

The end result of a decision to drive drunk should not be what ultimately determines public perception of the crime. Whether the driver got home safely or it resulted in death, there is no difference in the decision making process which in the end is what we should really be focusing on.

[FUNBUNCHER]

Well, the final outcome really does matter.
It's the difference between a player being arrested for owning an illegal firearm versus a player being arrested for shooting his GF dead with that illegal gun.

Drunk driving is bad. Driving drunk and being directly responsible for the death of the person in the seat next to you is so much worse.

It's the reason Josh Brent is being charged with intoxication manslaughter and will in all likelihood spend at least 10 years behind bars.

All DUIs aren't the same. I don't know how you don't make a distinction between other players charged with DUI and someone like Brent who actually killed someone.

[WCH]

Originally Posted by AntoinCD

I don't think he should have been there either, but why is Justin Blackmon allowed to play? What about all the other guys who have been arrested for DUI? They all did the same thing as Brent, only difference being he crashed.

Is putting a blindfold on and throwing knives only a bad thing if someone gets hit? The issue is the lack of a deterent, both by the NFL and the legal system to an extent, to driving drunk. There seems to be a bit of a culture of this in the NFL and things like this tragedy are going to happen until it is curtailed.

Not shifting blame from Brent because what he did was disgusting and abhorrent, but because someone died doesn't make his action worse. What Brent did was the same as what Blackmon and countless other NFL stars did. He got behind the wheel of a machine while unfit to drive.

If the NFL isn't going to crack down on drunk driving then they can't take the high ground when someone dies because of this. Brent will rightfully spend a lot of time in jail, but the NFL can't pass judgement on it when they have continuously let things slide on other instances.

Didn't Blackmon blow something like a .24? You basically have to be a hardcore drunk to blow a .24 and still be alert enough to attempt to drive.

[tjsunstein]

Originally Posted by crisco0710

We can say what we want to say about Jerry and the Cowboys, but the ultimate decision to allow him to be on the sideline came from Goodell.

The NFL's offices were unaware Brent would be on the sideline and he is now banned from it. Needless to say, you speculated wrong or pulled it out of your ass.

[TheFinisher]

Originally Posted by Caddy

Support someone who killed his friend. Sounds about right!

Context.



Unless you think they are supporting his decision, which they obviously are not.


What are the Cowboys supposed to do? What's done is done and no one can change what happened. Are you supposed to just neglect the guy now and choose to have nothing to do with him? Try and put yourself in his teammates' shoes, someone you've gotten to know and talk to on a daily basis for 3 years just ruined his life with a bad decision. You're his friend, would you still feel the same way? I doubt it.

[TheFinisher]

Originally Posted by FUNBUNCHER

Well, the final outcome really does matter.
It's the difference between a player being arrested for owning an illegal firearm versus a player being arrested for shooting his GF dead with that illegal gun.

Drunk driving is bad. Driving drunk and being directly responsible for the death of the person in the seat next to you is so much worse.

It's the reason Josh Brent is being charged with intoxication manslaughter and will in all likelihood spend at least 10 years behind bars.

All DUIs aren't the same. I don't know how you don't make a distinction between other players charged with DUI and someone like Brent who actually killed someone.

Because the decision making process was the same.

And there's really no parallel between your illegal firearm and drunk driving scenarios. The difference in decision making in those 2 scenarios are extremely different.

[Caddy]

Originally Posted by TheFinisher

Context.



Unless you think they are supporting his decision, which they obviously are not.


What are the Cowboys supposed to do? What's done is done and no one can change what happened. Are you supposed to just neglect the guy now and choose to have nothing to do with him? Try and put yourself in his teammates' shoes, someone you've gotten to know and talk to on a daily basis for 3 years just ruined his life with a bad decision. You're his friend, would you still feel the same way? I doubt it.

Why make the active choice to let him stand on the sideline? What does that achieve, exactly? The guy doesn't deserve support from the organisation.

[TheFinisher]

Originally Posted by Caddy

Why make the active choice to let him stand on the sideline? What does that achieve, exactly? The guy doesn't deserve support from the organisation.

That's your opinion and you're entitled to it, but at the same time the Cowboys feel differently and you should respect their opinion.

[J-Mike88]

Originally Posted by TheFinisher

That's your opinion and you're entitled to it, but at the same time the Cowboys feel differently and you should respect their opinion.

Some opinions are wrong, some right.

This guy killed a person, there's no debating that.