NFL Suspends Stallworth for Season

(AP)  Cleveland Browns receiver Donte' Stallworth was suspended without pay for this season Thursday after pleading guilty to killing a pedestrian while driving drunk. He cannot participate in any team activities until his reinstatement after the Super Bowl.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Stallworth placed a "stain" on the reputation of the league and all its players.

Stallworth struck 59-year-old Mario Reyes on March 14 in Miami. He pleaded guilty June 16 to DUI manslaughter, a second-degree felony, and was suspended indefinitely by Goodell two days later.

Stallworth drew a 30-day jail sentence and reached an undisclosed financial settlement with the family of Reyes, who was leaving his crane operator job when he was struck.

In a letter to Stallworth released by the NFL, Goodell said he didn't take into account the sentence in determining the 28-year-old player violated the league's substances of abuse and personal conduct policies.

"Your conduct endangered yourself and others, leading to the death of an innocent man," Goodell wrote. "The NFL and NFL players must live with the stain that you have placed on their reputations."

Goodell held a hearing with Stallworth, his representatives and union officials Aug. 5. He also met privately with Stallworth on Monday at the player's request.

Police said Stallworth had spent the night drinking at a Miami Beach club and had a blood-alcohol level of .126, above Florida's .08 legal limit. Besides jail time, his sentence included two years of house arrest, eight years of probation and other restrictions.

A college star at Tennessee, Stallworth has also played for the New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles and New Orleans Saints. His first year with Cleveland was marred by injuries. He hurt his leg in training camp, which sidelined him for most of the season.

The Browns signed him to a seven-year, $35 million contract in 2008, hoping he could be a complementary No. 2 receiver and take pressure off Braylon Edwards. But Stallworth never got going because of the injury and made only seven starts. Edwards spent the season dropping important passes and Cleveland finished a disappointing 4-12.

Once it became apparent Stallworth could miss time, the Browns signed 12-year veteran David Patten and drafted Brian Robiskie and Mohammed Massaquoi in April to add depth at receiver.

[dallasstorm3]

OMG where to start. Lets start with the good person that commented on here that hitting and killing someone could happen to any one of us. True, but I dont care how good of a person Donte` Stallworth may or may not be...fact is you do NOT drink and drive. He might have then seen that person regardless of what color clothes he was wearing. Headlights have we heard of them? When you are drunk your vision is severely impaired. So he losses a season gets a 30 day jail term and 8 years of probation....and they call him stained for what he did. And the contradicting Roger Goodell did not call Michael Vick stained? He was straight up sober when he was hanging dogs from trees and shocking them and holding them under water. Not to mention the dog fighting. He spent 18 months in a FEDERAL prison and Mr. Roger Goodell who said he was indefinitely suspended lets him back in and the dumb a$$ Eagles sign him because they think he has talent. I guess that talent came in the form of both his middle fingers when he totally blew a home game and his fans boo'd him. And rightfully so. So I am thinking this Commissoner Goodell needs a reality check. Whether people or animals...no difference to me. If you indefinitely suspend someone....why do you make all the rules and let him back in? Go figure.

[yrekachick]

He got 30 days jail time, 2 yrs inhouse arrest & 8 yrs probation...that isn't exactly a slap on the hand. He is also losing a years pay & made restitution to the family...He was truthful & upfront from the beginning....not at all like Michael Vick, who denied everything in the beginning and then finally admitted what he had done (when he saw that he was truly caught) People don't be so judgmental, something like or similar could happen to any one of us.

[truth_police]

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL have a horrific "stain" on their image and record for letting Michael Vick back into the NFL. The rank stench from that sociopathic NFL action far outweighs the Stallworth taint. At least the Stallworth incident was an accident. It was not intentional. Vick's conduct was intentional and was so reprehensible, loathsome, disgustingly brutal, sociopathic and homicidal that nothing can sanitize the horrid image of an NFL player ruthlessly torturing and killing defenseless animals. The sociopathic depravity of what Roger Goodell, Vick and the NFL have done is nothing less than depraved and abhorrent beyond measure. And to hear Roger Goodell pontificating this feigned pretense of taking high moral ground is both disgusting and twisted. To be perfectly clear, the reputation of Roger Goodell, Vick and the NFL is pure, undiluted toxic trash for which there can be NO rehabilitation.

[saturn05]

Vick killed and tortured animals and he wasn't drunk.

[TheMasses2016]

So he killed a guy drunk; who hasen't?

[TheMasses2016]

Sorry-that was cold.

RIP to the guy and his family.

[govtguy]

What a crock o crap! Nothing says get-out-jail-free better than being an NFL star-wanna-bee! The NFL Commissioner stated that Stallworth was a stain on the league and team, then dismissed him? It wasn't his family that suffered the loss, and I betcha if it was, he would have reacted much more strongly! Stallworth will sit quietly in the shadows for a little while then do a Michael Vicks and return to the game with another team; and repeat all over again! He will return to sports and the public will be sucker punched (again!).

[dken05]

By reading peoples responses it seems as though everyone thinks that this only happened because of the drinking. It could very well have had nothing to do with the drinking.

[Constitionalist]

Or it could be that drinking slows your reflexes and distorts your vision. There is a reason drunk driving is illegal, and this is it. If you only killed yourself by driving drunk there would be no problem.

He knew that drunk driving is illegal. Everyone with a liscense knows this. He chose to drink. He chose to drive. Whatever results from these decisions is his responsibility. It is sad that he only got 30 days in jail. He should have gotten the same thing the other guy got.

[dken05]

You guys are hard on people. Yes, it is a terrible thing that this man died. However, it could happen to any of us. From what i read and heard, the man was wearing dark colored clothing, on a road that was not very well lit, and was jaywalking. It is horrible to drink and drive, and i in no way shape or form condone it, but he still was unlucky. Those of you who have drank should realize that a .12 bac is higher than the legal limit, but not like a crazy level. If he had a light beer every 30 minutes, for four hours, thats around what his bac would have been. I personally feel as though at the trial, all involved realized somewhat agreed that this situation could have happened just as easily had stallworth not been drinking. It was very unfortunate, and stallworth needs to be responsible enough to not drink and drive, but i think he did his time, he sincerely apologized and settled with the family, and he is suspended without pay for a year. You guys that think he should never be allowed to play again are very rough. Playing football is his job.

[TheMasses2016]

Well thought out response.

There are alot of fantasy keeper owners that hung on to him and are now stuck with a dead roster spot.

Oh yeah, RIP to the guy and his family.

[grabandgo]

What a joke. THIS BUM and Michael Vick should receive LIFRTIME BANS
FROM ALL SPORTS.
What kind of message is the NFL sending to our children, it is
OK to kill?

[SkirtLifter]

""Stallworth drew a 30-day jail sentence and reached an undisclosed financial settlement with the family of Reyes.""

30 days in jail is too much time ... an unjust punishment. My gosh ... I thought sports stars ewre given a pass?