Raiders WR Henry Ruggs drives drunk at 156 MPH and kills someone

[bmw]

Henry Ruggs, wide receiver for the Oakland Raiders, was driving drunk at 4 AM, got his vehicle up to an estimated 156 MPH, and crashed into a 2013 Toyota RAV4, killing the driver of that vehicle. Ruggs himself was injured as was his girlfriend who was a passenger.

Now that news has been out for a few days. Reason I'm making this thread is because of the public statement made by the Raiders' interim head coach Rich Bisaccia:

We’re deeply saddened for everyone affected, especially the victim’s family. That being said, we love Henry Ruggs and want him to know that. It’s a terrible lapse in judgment of the most horrific kind, it’s something that he will have to live with the rest of his life. The gravity of the situation is not lost on anyone here and we understand and respect the loss of life...

To be perfectly frank, I don’t really know if I can put into words the emotional feelings that certainly I went through and certainly I can’t speak for our players or our coaches, or our owner or our organization. I just know that for me as a parent and a person that cares about young people and that deals with young people every day, I really don’t know if I can quantify what the emotions are...

I think there is two separate entities, there is Henry Ruggs the football player, which is no longer a part of the Raiders, and then Henry Ruggs the person, who is certainly going through what he is going through and is going to have the pay the consequences for the actions.

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/raiders- ... enry-ruggs

Do you think that is an appropriate statement to make? Me personally, I find it completely inappropriate for the coach to make a statement sympathetic towards a player who got drunk, drive 156 MPH down the highway, and killed someone. I have no sympathy for anyone who gets behind the wheel drunk and gets a ticket or goes to jail for DUI, let alone for someone who does that and then kills someone. No sympathy whatsoever.

[Matt]

Henry Ruggs, wide receiver for the Oakland Raiders, was driving drunk at 4 AM, got his vehicle up to an estimated 156 MPH, and crashed into a 2013 Toyota RAV4, killing the driver of that vehicle. Ruggs himself was injured as was his girlfriend who was a passenger.

Now that news has been out for a few days. Reason I'm making this thread is because of the public statement made by the Raiders' interim head coach Rich Bisaccia:

We’re deeply saddened for everyone affected, especially the victim’s family. That being said, we love Henry Ruggs and want him to know that. It’s a terrible lapse in judgment of the most horrific kind, it’s something that he will have to live with the rest of his life. The gravity of the situation is not lost on anyone here and we understand and respect the loss of life...

To be perfectly frank, I don’t really know if I can put into words the emotional feelings that certainly I went through and certainly I can’t speak for our players or our coaches, or our owner or our organization. I just know that for me as a parent and a person that cares about young people and that deals with young people every day, I really don’t know if I can quantify what the emotions are...

I think there is two separate entities, there is Henry Ruggs the football player, which is no longer a part of the Raiders, and then Henry Ruggs the person, who is certainly going through what he is going through and is going to have the pay the consequences for the actions.

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/raiders- ... enry-ruggs

Do you think that is an appropriate statement to make? Me personally, I find it completely inappropriate for the coach to make a statement sympathetic towards a player who got drunk, drive 156 MPH down the highway, and killed someone. I have no sympathy for anyone who gets behind the wheel drunk and gets a ticket or goes to jail for DUI, let alone for someone who does that and then kills someone. No sympathy whatsoever.

The PUBLIC comments are FAR WORSE than the juvenile PRIVATE comments from Jon Gruden.

[Robert Faygo]

I don't see the issue?

It’s a terrible lapse in judgment of the most horrific kind, it’s something that he will have to live with the rest of his life

Henry Ruggs the person, who is certainly going through what he is going through and is going to have the pay the consequences for the actions.

Are you hung up on the expression of love? It is possible to love someone while simultaneously hating their actions.

That's what I take from that statement.

[craig11152]

Not that its directly relevant but some reports say the deceased woman was heard screaming in her burning car before she died.
Her dog died in the car too. That's enough for me to burn the guy at the stake.

[bmw]

I don't see the issue?

It’s a terrible lapse in judgment of the most horrific kind, it’s something that he will have to live with the rest of his life

Henry Ruggs the person, who is certainly going through what he is going through and is going to have the pay the consequences for the actions.

Are you hung up on the expression of love? It is possible to love someone while simultaneously hating their actions.

That's what I take from that statement.

The NFL is a business. Bisaccia was speaking in his capacity as head coach as he was answering questions from reporters. At the time of his comments, Ruggs had already been released by the Raiders. If Bisaccia wants to reach out personally, off the clock, to Ruggs and tell him that, I don't have a problem with that. But as a coach, I think his statement as a whole sends very mixed messages to the team. Considering the league has had an image problem for decades of being composed of players who party it up and get drunk off their ass all the time in their free time, he SHOULD have directed his statement towards the rest of his players and specifically warned them of the consequences that can come from this type of lifestyle. But he didn't do that. I read it as "yeah, he killed somebody, but we still love him."

[bmw]

Not that its directly relevant but some reports say the deceased woman was heard screaming in her burning car before she died.
Her dog died in the car too. That's enough for me to burn the guy at the stake.

I've read those reports too. That, combined with the high speed of the vehicle, I predict lands Ruggs in prison for at least 10 years.

[Robert Faygo]

Ruggs should be charged with first degree murder. It's a travesty that he is out on bond. No punishment is harsh enough.

That said, these coaches are in no win situations when this kind of shit goes down. If they are too harsh / unsupportive, the other players see that and figure they won't have their backs / don't care about them as people in addition to football players. Are they humans or just disposable employees? Davis already took care of the employee part by releasing him. The coach is left with the human part.

[bmw]

I disagree to the extent that the players need to understand that there IS a set of behaviors whereby the coach will not have their backs - and Ruggs' behavior certainly should fall into that category. Now while I don't think the coaches' statement went so far as to suggest that Ruggs' behavior was acceptable, I do think his language should have much more strongly condemned what Ruggs did and he should have used that as a teaching moment to his players that when you go out and party at 4 AM, you risk throwing your life away.

[Robert Faygo]

Fair enough.

Those conversations do happen, repeatedly, when the public can't see/hear it.

I don't necessarily think it's having his back with the accident as much as it is acknowledging that there was a relationship there that extended beyond what he did on the football field and that relationship is now, rightfully, over.

There can be separation between a personal connection with someone and some action that they took. Kinda like how a parent can still love their kid - even if they do something this horrible.

Out of curiosity -- do you have kids?

[Honeyman]

I'm 100% with Robert. If you've ever had a true friend/close relative who has fucked up big time before, it is not the time to desert them. You can support them even if their actions were inexcusable.

That said, I agree with everybody in that they should lock him up and throw away the key.

[Rate This]

I'm 100% with Robert. If you've ever had a true friend/close relative who has fucked up big time before, it is not the time to desert them. You can support them even if their actions were inexcusable.

That said, I agree with everybody in that they should lock him up and throw away the key.

Support is probably not the word you want to use… maybe sympathize or empathize? Support implies you think he may not have done it and might get off or something. It’s one step from “let’s see where the facts lead us before we pass judgement”.

[bmw]

I understand the different points of view here - I just think there are limits to when it is ok to support someone - particularly in a business setting. Taken to the extreme to illustrate my point - what if he had come to work one day with a gun and just started shooting up people in the locker room - would the coach's statement have been appropriate then? Or how about if it had been a white football player who was caught at a white supremacy rally. Would it be ok for a coach to say he still loved him? Or would that be grounds for immediate dismissal?

(and PS - I actually disagree with charging him with 1st degree murder or locking him up for life).

[Honeyman]

I see your point Beemer, and while I can't argue that the NFL is a business, these guys are part of a team. If you've played any organized athletics, you know there is a special bond there. My extent was high school baseball (great glove, no bat) and basketball (barely got off the bench). The bonds I had with coaches and teammates was uniquely special. I can only imagine how strong they are at the professional level.

[Robert Faygo]

I don't think it's inappropriate to verbally express that you love someone, even in your scenarios above. Without it being harassment of course. It's not a reason to be fired.

If you've ever had professional counseling, one of the very first foundations that you build for yourself is being able to separate a person's actions from the overall person. While true about others too, it's especially true about yourself. This is not to say that this is freedom from having to take responsibility for one's actions. These NFL coaches get all kinds of this training.

I think it's murder due to the fact that the NFL offers it's players unlimited use of a ride service if they are drinking. Every last player knows that they have an easy way to avoid putting the public at risk if they want to partake. This guy purposely got behind the wheel while bombed and killed someone. It might not be 1st degree murder, but ... he did it on purpose. No sympathy from me.

[moldyoldie]

I'll be brief: I see nothing in Coach Rich Bisaccia's statement that's inappropriate; he covered all the pertinent bases with both sympathy for the victims and empathy for the perpetrator, his soldier and subordinate.

I predict Ruggs will get the book thrown at him.