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Originally Posted by paulskinsfan
The question is, why not put a felony on his record? What does the kid lose? He's a millionaire, so what if he can't vote or own a gun, hell, he'd be better off not owning a gun with his temperment. If he was an average joe, then maybe, but what is the downside to accepting the plea?
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I think the thing that stuns me most about your response is how cavalier it is. Setting aside his temper on the field (spitting is nowhere near a felony), Taylor strikes me as somewhat of a stand up guy with a lot of pride. His dad is a police officer and Taylor studied Criminology in college. He has a lot more at stake than just a "mark on the record." He has to live with himself.
Having a felony criminal record is pretty significant. While Taylor may "have his millions", he might want to do something with his life after football. He might even want to be a police detective and follow his dad or he might want to start a business. I doubt he'll just sit around and get fat. But in the 'real world', that felony record becomes significant. Police officer with a felony gun charge? Not likely. Business line of credit with a felony gun charge? Nothing reputable will work there either.
If Taylor's legal team believes they can beat this charge, they should make that effort. I do not condone Sean's response of personally going after the guys who stole his ATV, but the truth is, I might have done the same. Both of us should likely have called the police in that situation.
If you really believe that having a felony on your record is no big deal, just talk to all the guys who grew up and realized that it is a serious deal.