The Saga Continues....

by marv4prez2012 on Jun 19, 2008 10:17 AM EDT

Couple of things broke today in the epic tale of an oversized/ overpriced Porsche and it's unknown driver. Depending on who you listen to, all three - or maybe just two - of the players subpoenaed to testify Friday have gotten a pass.

Looks like the "get outta Dodge" strategy has worked quite well to this point. The front office fellows still are on the hook, but at least the players got a reprieve. The Buffalo News article is intriguing in that it brings to light a couple of new details, in that Hardy may not have had much to do with anything and someone has actually come to Marshawn's defense publicly. I'll keep my cynical thoughts on those two things to myself. Also, in the WBEN interview with the commish (Police, not NFL) it is stated that "police cameras in the area did not capture an image of the driver". In my mind that says there's little to no evidence that ML was the driver. As long as everyone sticks to their constitutional rights to keep their mouths shut, the DA's got very little to charge him with. You lawyer types out there, is a witness statement and a positive vehicle ID enough for criminal charges?

Just another great fan opinion shared on the pages of BuffaloRumblings.com.

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The next episode of the Marshawn Lynch Legal Mystery of the Week

And now for our next episode of the Marshawn Lynch Legal Mystery of the Week…
You’re right, marv, he wouldn’t be convening a Grand Jury if he had Marshawn cold.
Okay, Bills legal advisors: What can the D.A. do, and what can he not do, to compel witnesses to the Grand Jury to tell everything they know? If they lie, it’s certainly perjury, but if they stonewall, is it contempt of court? And what, pray tell, is the penalty for that?

by Defensewinsgames on Jun 19, 2008 11:01 AM EDT reply actions

subpoenas

Well if a witness is dumb enough to show and not say anything, they can get in a lot of trouble. Since they don’t have the right to plead the fifth, it’s essentially perjury to say nothing.

More likely the wintness will just not show up. They will be considered in comtempt, which could technically carry some jail time (30 days?), but is typically a fine.

by kaisertown on Jun 19, 2008 12:09 PM EDT up reply actions

Again

I’ve said it from the beginning and will continue to say it until evidence comes out. This case is murky at best. Until there is any REAL evidence pointing to Marshawn, he will not get suspended. This is going to hurt the DA’s reputation more than help it.

McKelvin and Hardy - rookies of the year

by poz on Jun 19, 2008 11:48 AM EDT reply actions

I'm not so sure

Poz, that would be the absolute best possible outcome, assuming they can make this thing go away before training camp next month. This team needs to devote its entire collective focus to playing disciplined team-oriented football, and nothing else.
But I’m not so sure that we’re not going to be missing our best player for awhile. The NFL commish doesn’t need a court conviction to suspend a player. If he feels the player has hurt the league’s image through his behavior, he’s free to act.
I would submit that by Lynch not coming forward voluntarily for three weeks, and letting this thing fester in the national press, a case could be made that he has tarnished the image of the NFL.
Not saying I hope that happens. Just that it could.

by Defensewinsgames on Jun 19, 2008 4:35 PM EDT up reply actions

I would submit that by Lynch not coming forward voluntarily for three weeks, and letting this thing fester in the national press, a case could be made that he has tarnished the image of the NFL.

If Lynch’s exercising his Constitutional right to Plead the Fifth is a black eye for the league, then it’s already hemorrhaged and bled out thanks to the likes of Pacman and Chris Henry. Other than allegedly hitting a young lady with his car, Lynch hasn’t done anything wrong here. Was it the best strategy to keep quiet? Maybe, maybe not. But if Goodell suspends based on Lynch exercising a Constitutional right, then he’s lost his mind.

by Brian Galliford on Jun 19, 2008 7:13 PM EDT up reply actions

Perception

In the court of public opinion, Lynch has been tried and found guilty. That’s what the league cares about when you strip everything else away. People think he heartlessly ran down a woman and left her to possibly die. That makes the league look bad so the league will do something about it. Whether it’s fair or not is irrelevant. Lynch put himself in a no-win situation.

by Ron From NM on Jun 19, 2008 7:27 PM EDT up reply actions

That’s my point – that perception is accurate, but it shouldn’t be made worse by the fact that Lynch has legally refused to talk about it. Not in Roger Goodell’s eyes, at least. If he’s making decisions based on public opinion, then why the hell was Bill Belichick allowed to coach for 16 games last year?

I think, looking back on it – and I’m part of the rule, not the exception – we sort of freaked out about this. Lynch made one mistake that night; he hasn’t made a legal mistake since. His punishment should be reflective of the morning of May 31, and nothing else. If Goodell hands out a punishment based on anything but that, it’s proof that he’s got his priorities out of whack as league commissioner. I don’t think he’ll suspend. I think Lynch is facing a team fine, a slap on the wrist, and a butt load of community service.

by Brian Galliford on Jun 19, 2008 7:35 PM EDT up reply actions

Oh, I like the part about Belichick

Putting Bill on ice for a few weeks would be sweet, wouldn’t it? Just imagine the howls from Boston. We’d here them all the way here in western New York if Billy boy missed a few games. Never happen, of course – he’s one of the icons of pro football, but it would be sweet. The same cannot be said about Lynch, who is basically a rook behaving badly.
I do disagree with you about suspensions, Brian. Oh, Lynch will get suspended alright. Goodell really cannot fail to act on this case and maintain his credibility as the sheriff enforcing the new behavior policy.

by Defensewinsgames on Jun 19, 2008 9:14 PM EDT up reply actions

Explain to me, then, the Czar’s failure to suspend Lance Briggs, who wrapped his Lamborghini around a guard rail, left the scene of the accident (yes, no humans were involved, so it’s decidedly less alarming than Lynch’s incident), and then promptly completed 2 of 120 community service hours (his sentence) in the first seven months of the year he was given to complete the sentence. As long as Lynch accepts his legal punishment like a man, I don’t see how Goodell would have any reason to extend the punishment. Like I said, community service and a team fine are all I see.

Of course, my prose is a kind of curse, so I should probably shut up.

by Brian Galliford on Jun 19, 2008 9:43 PM EDT up reply actions

haha my fear as well

I wanted to type my opinion on this last week but was afraid I’d jinx it as well. I’ll shut up too.

McKelvin and Hardy - rookies of the year

by poz on Jun 19, 2008 11:05 PM EDT up reply actions

Sorry

Sorry Brian, but saying “Other than allegedly hitting a young lady with his car, Lynch hasn’t done anything wrong here” is a bit disingenous. First, he was in the car - I think all evidence points to that from his presence at the bar before that. Second, it was his car that hit the lady. Third, THEY LEFT HER THERE without regard to her injury IN ORDER TO AVOID THE LAW. Apparently, the damage done to the car indicates that the impact of the hit was substantial. One thing we should all agree - however it turns out—is that leaving the scene of an accident where you hit a person who may have died is not right. That Lynch and other passengers of the car may benefit from fleeing the accident (and I do think it was an accident), shouldn’t make it so that we interpret that as having done nothing wrong. If someone hit a member of my family with his car and fled, I would not agree with your statement.

by labill on Jun 19, 2008 7:37 PM EDT up reply actions

I’m not trying to excuse his likely behavior that night, labill; when I say “Lynch hasn’t done anything wrong”, I mean in the sense of him dragging the situation out. He has every right to hold his tongue until the authorities force it loose. Punish him for what he did that night. Don’t punish him for this being a national story for more than two weeks. That’s all I’m saying.

by Brian Galliford on Jun 19, 2008 7:42 PM EDT up reply actions

You hit the nail on the head, Brian

Lynch will be punished because this has been a national story for two weeks. It’s just that simple. Whether it’s fair or not is another matter entirely. While I agree that Belicheat should have been suspended he and the Patriots were punished by the Commish. No laws were broken, it seems that most teams do what the Pats were doing, and many football fans could care less. It was a national story so the NFL had to act.

by Ron From NM on Jun 19, 2008 10:12 PM EDT up reply actions

... but that’s the exact opposite of what I’m saying. :)

Keep in mind, also, that “league punishment” does NOT automatically equate to “suspension”.

by Brian Galliford on Jun 20, 2008 7:46 AM EDT up reply actions

And vice versa

Lack of legal punishment doesn’t automatically equate to a lack of suspension. Belicheat wasn’t charged with any crime but Goodell lightened his bank account by $500,000.

by Ron From NM on Jun 20, 2008 9:39 AM EDT up reply actions

National story

I don’t think so.

Down here in NYC, there was not a mention of this in the papers, nor should there be. I’ve seen nothing mentioned on Sportscenter and only a few items along the crawl on the bottom. It was mentioned on NFL Network, though not a whole lot was added after the first few days.

Sure, this happened to an NFL player, but I highly doubt it’s a national story that’s going to cause fans in Denver, New Orleans, etc to have heated discussions about it at the local watering holes. It’s a very small issue for the majority of NFL fans, if at all. I don’t see how Lynch ‘tarnished’ the league or gave it a huge black eye. He did that to the Bills and the community, but beyond that, nobody cares….

by Kurupt on Jun 20, 2008 10:36 AM EDT up reply actions

Which is exacly why

Lynch’s lawyer is handling it this way. Take the initial PR hit, stall, wait for people to get tired of it. It is classic. Lynch’s lawyer is very smart. He has a guilty client, but very little concrete evidence against him. All will be forgiven by most when he starts scoring TDs again.

“If they are substantial, prepare for them; if they are strong, avoid them. If they are angry, perturb them; be deferential to foster their arrogance.”

Sun -tzu

by Joe P. on Jun 20, 2008 11:28 AM EDT up reply actions

but you're looking at it morally

and we are a country under law not allegation. I don’t disagree with you that what he “allegedly” did was wrong, it is very very wrong. But if there is no evidence and right now there doesn’t seem to be any, then we can’t just punish him.

McKelvin and Hardy - rookies of the year

by poz on Jun 19, 2008 7:45 PM EDT up reply actions

Circumstancial Evidence

WIth a witness statement and positive vehicle ID it becomes a question for the judge/jury. Factors such as witness credibility will be debated and addressed.

by Berg79 on Jun 19, 2008 2:37 PM EDT reply actions

Seems unlikely to go to a judge or jury, doesn't it?

I mean, unless Marshawn and Caffery really want to push this thing to the max, draw it out for months, I would think he’d be as anxious as all of us are to see this thing go away. Plea to a traffic violation or even to the full charge of leaving the scene, pay a small fine, do some community service.
My guess is, Clark doesn’t have a solid case, and Caffery doesn’t have a concrete gurantee that one of the boys won’t blow Marshawn in when they’re on the hot seat.
That’s what this week’s negotiations have been all about. The lawyers have to come to some middle ground where both can save face.

by Defensewinsgames on Jun 19, 2008 4:28 PM EDT up reply actions

Rest of the Country

I am in St. Louis right now for school, and I can tell you that outside of Buffalo this is getting little press other than footnotes on Sportscenter and NFL Live. For those who are worried about the image of the NFL through Marshawn, like someone said earlier, Adam (not Pacman anymore folks) Jones, Chris Henry, and the rest of the inmates in Cinicinatti are making the league look infinitely worse that Marshawn has.

by pozzed51 on Jun 19, 2008 7:54 PM EDT reply actions

First post, pozzed? If so, welcome to the site.

As for your comment, it ties in with what I said above – I think the initial reaction on this community’s part, the fear of suspension, may have been a bit overstated. It’s good to hear that this isn’t being talked about out where you are. Almost makes me wish I was out there too.

by Brian Galliford on Jun 19, 2008 7:56 PM EDT up reply actions

Well, I don’t hear anything about this, but then again I don’t hear anything else without going out and finding it…But I take what I can get. Other than the Toronto series, that is. Unfortunately (here comes the paranoia again) many people think that we aren’t going to have a team much longer…

by pozzed51 on Jun 20, 2008 2:08 PM EDT up reply actions

Hope you're high and dry, Pozzed51

The Lynch story has gotten some play in NM, but the Bills are typically ignored in this part of the world whether they’re using their powers for good or evil.

by Ron From NM on Jun 19, 2008 10:14 PM EDT up reply actions

Flooding

Where I am in the city is fine, but down by the arch and all around the city the levies are breaking.

by pozzed51 on Jun 20, 2008 6:24 PM EDT up reply actions

Yup

that’s what I believe. Nobody else in the country cares outside of WNY

by Kurupt on Jun 20, 2008 10:37 AM EDT up reply actions

Central Pa

Not much on the story being played here. A small blip when the incident first occured but not much, if anything, since.

by XtrmeCarnage82 on Jun 20, 2008 11:14 AM EDT up reply actions

No testimony

The front office guys that were supposed to testify today before the Grand Jury have been excused, according to the Buffalo News. Talk of a settlement is getting much stronger. ‘Bout damn time. And now I know that Cambria is one of the team’s attorney’s! Hopefully this will all be taken care of over the weekend, if not today. Wouldn’t that be nice?

by marv4prez2012 on Jun 20, 2008 11:22 AM EDT reply actions