Grits and Shins Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 According to Michael Irvin. Apparently he feels like professional athletes suffer more at the hands of the legal system than the normal citizen. He used his own past as a case in point claiming his punishment was 3 to 4 times the punishment a normal citizen would get. I guess it shouldn't really surprise me that he feels this way. I'd be willing to bet that there is a significant number of professional athletes that would be in jail right now except for their ability to perform their selected sport at a very high level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bier Meister Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 of course he is forgetting about all of those times they let him go because he was a cowboy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffeeman Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 He is an idiot. Did anyone else see what happened to Richie Sambora after his drunken driving arrest, with his young daughter in the car? Nothing, that's what.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isleseeya Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Let me remind all also about orenthal james or better known as OJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage Beatings Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 To be fair, I think that some celebrities do get treated tougher by Prosecutors looking to make a name for themselves, or by Judges looking to make an example of them. As much as I dislike her, I think Martha Stewart got completely shafted because she is a hated celebrity. And with violent criminals being let go early because our prisons are overcrowded, I think that a 3 year sentence for Wesley Snipes on tax evasion is a bit extreme. He is guilty and no doubt deserves to be punished, but I'm willing to bet that his maximum sentence was due in large part to his being a celebrity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grits and Shins Posted April 25, 2008 Author Share Posted April 25, 2008 To be fair, I think that some celebrities do get treated tougher by Prosecutors looking to make a name for themselves, or by Judges looking to make an example of them. As much as I dislike her, I think Martha Stewart got completely shafted because she is a hated celebrity. And with violent criminals being let go early because our prisons are overcrowded, I think that a 3 year sentence for Wesley Snipes on tax evasion is a bit extreme. He is guilty and no doubt deserves to be punished, but I'm willing to bet that his maximum sentence was due in large part to his being a celebrity. It might be possible that celebrities/athletes are made examples of ... but only when they actually are prosecuted. It think it might also depend on the nature of the infraction. It seems to me that celebrities/athletes get quite a few free passes when it comes to illegal substances and wife beating ... there are probably countless other free passes for them that I didn't list as well. Then when they are actually prosecuted they have the best defense money can buy ... so often get off in that manner. I suspect the Wesley Snipes got the same sentence anybody would have gotten had they done the same ... the government/IRS will NOT abide tax evasion as it is their life blood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yo mama Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 (edited) ... I think that a 3 year sentence for Wesley Snipes on tax evasion is a bit extreme. He is guilty and no doubt deserves to be punished, but I'm willing to bet that his maximum sentence was due in large part to his being a celebrity. Well, sort of. The judge made an example of him because there was so much media attention on the case. He threw the book at Snipes because he wanted to send a message to everyone who was paying attention: don't f__ around with these BS tax-protester arguments or you risk jail time. So at a minimum, the court used Snipes' celebrity status to deliver that message to a larger audience. Query as to whether Snipes would have gotten the same sentence if the media had ignored the case altogether. Edited April 25, 2008 by yo mama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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