Ty Lawson arrested
Ugh. Ty was arrested at 2:33am Thursday morning and was charged with three misdemeanors: driving after consuming alcohol, driving with a suspended or revoked license, and violating a noise ordinance.
The difference between "driving after consuming alcohol" and "driving while intoxicated" is pretty significant. Ty is 20 years old and no one under the age of 21 can have alcohol in their system while driving. Had he blown a .08 he would have also been charged with a DWI. So he was sober, but it still is an offense because he is under age (
he turns 21 in November).
While he wasn't charged with a felony, all of the charges are very serious. Driving with a suspended license? That indicates prior infractions.
Everyone wants to know how this will impact his draft status. Here are my thoughts:
- He likely won't get drafted 20 or higher as he hoped. Carmelo Anthony got a DWI and Denver is trying to trade him (not just for that, but it didn't help). NBA teams don't like this kind of trouble with a player because they are working hard to maintain their image. This will likely drop Ty to the second round.
- Won't he stay at UNC for another season? It depends on the severity of Roy's punishment. Would he make Ty sit out games? How many? He made Wayne Ellington run until "Coach Williams got tired" after instigating a technical foul last year. How about getting in trouble with the law? Ty may want to forgo that punishment and the punishment the local media will likely inflict on him most of next year with constant questions about the arrest.
We'll have our answer by June 16th (last day to pull out of the draft).
In summary: Ty probably had a beer or two (like many college students) and was sober, but got behind the wheel (which was dumb with a suspended license), and played his music too loud (like many college students). While he didn't commit any felonies, even misdemeanors are a big deal for Carolina basketball players. We hold them to a higher standard and for that Ty will be punished far more than just what the legal system dictates.
