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If you’re a sports fan in the Phoenix area, the news brought more than games and scores in September. In fact, three current and former Phoenix professionals were arrested on a variety of charges over the past several weeks. Here are some of the details:
- Jonathan Dwyer, backup running back for the Arizona Cardinals, was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence. Dwyer is the latest of a series of NFL players charged with domestic violence. The news includes what many view as the mishandling of these cases (including the recent Ray Rice incident) by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Dwyer was charged with aggravated assault allegedly involving both his wife and his one-year old son.
- Former NBA guard, whose career included stints with a number of teams, including the Phoenix Suns, was arrested for shoplifting. He is accused of stealing $14,000 worth of merchandise from an Apple store in Scottsdale. Charges include nine counts of organized retail theft, and five counts of trafficking in stolen property.
- The former quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, Max Hall, was also arrested, after police were called to a Best Buy in Gilbert. They say an employee of the store told them Hall was spotted taking merchandise out of boxes and putting it in his backpack. They add that when the backpack was searched, in addition to electronics, they found a small amount of drugs. Hall has been charged with possession of stolen goods, and possession of cocaine.
There have been numerous articles written about sports figures being arrested, but the conclusion is often that the number of arrests among pro athletes is actually a lot lower than among the population in general. While we agree that this is the case, at least when the pros are compared with the population in general, we’re not sure that this is the appropriate comparison. In that regard, the poverty rate among pro athletes is zero, so we’d like to see a new series of comparisons – arrests rates of NFL players, compared with arrest rates for multi-millionaires across the area. That, we anticipate, might provide some interesting results.
Law Offices of David A. Black 40 North Central Avenue #1850 Phoenix, AZ 85004 (480) 280-8028
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