2010 has claimed another Syracuse victim.
Just hours after both the men and women suffered their first defeats of the season, news broke that Taj Smith was nailed on DUI.
The Colts wideout was pulled over by Indianapolis police at 3:24 a.m. on New Year’s night.
“An officer witnessed him driving erratically. After pulling Smith’s car over, the officer said Smith, 26, had glassy eyes, slurred speech and smelled of alcohol. Police said Smith failed a field sobriety and breath test and was arrested and preliminarily charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated.”
Athletes being pulled over for drunken antics behind the wheel barely makes us flinch anymore (especially after the Donte Stallworth tragedy earlier this year). But Taj’s brief fit of idiot-itus leaves even the most loyal Orange fan scratching its head.
You’re a practice squad wideout tenuously holding onto a position with one of the premier franchises in the NFL (and one that famously suffers few fools).
It’s not like you’re an indispensable star or even financially stable enough to recover from losing your job and latch on somewhere else. Plus, it’s New Year’s, so you probably have a pretty good idea you’re gonna end up loose. Five-oh is on high-alert¬†everywhere on New Year’s Eve. And the league itself (to prevent as many PR-disasters as possible) offers courtesy car services for every player 24/365.
Let’s hope this is merely a wake-up call for Taj. It’s also unfair to unload on Smith for a transgression half the Bengals have been arrested for. But it’s at very best a bonehead move for Taj and a reminder the first 72 hours of 2010 have been unkind to the Orange.
