With Spring football just around the corner the last thing the Notre Dame football program needed was a star football player arrested. Unfortunately Notre Dame just lost it's best player in returning senior wideout Michael Floyd who was arrested Saturday night for drinking and driving.
WSBT has confirmed star Notre Dame football player Michael Floyd was arrested over the weekend for drinking and driving.
Sgt. Bill Redman, St. Joseph County Police public information officer, confirmed Floyd was booked into the county jail just after 4 a.m. Sunday.
Floyd was released from jail about seven hours later after posting a $500 bond.
Redman says Notre Dame Security Police arrested Floyd on campus.
A court date is set for May 2, Redman said, clarifying his earlier report of an April 2 court date.
Losing Floyd next season due to a suspension would be a huge blow for the Notre Dame offense. Floyd is one of the top 3 wide receivers in the college game and honestly is not replaceable. It was a huge shock when he decided to come back for his senior season and skip the NFL draft. This DUI arrest is of equal in shock value considering Floyd is a senior captain who is suppose to lead by example for a Fighting Irish team that is a sleeper for a BCS Bowl run in the fall. This isn't Floyd's first offense with drinking either. He was cited for underage drinking in his hometown of Minneapolis 14 months ago. A fight was involved.
If I had to take a guess I think head coach Brian Kelly will suspend Floyd for at least 2 games with a possibility of 6 games max. A suspension isn't a possibility at this point. It's a reality especially at a school like Notre Dame. Starting fullback Rashon Powers-Neal was suspended the rest of his senior year after he was caught for DUI midway through the 2005 season. Other players with past offenses were basically kicked out of the school. It will be interesting to see how Notre Dame handles the situation. Michael Floyd fucked up and he fucked up pretty bad. Now one can only hope he learns from his mistake and has a chance at redemption this fall.
Here is what the Notre Dame du Lac handbook (think of it as the rules all students must follow at Notre Dame) says in regards to alcohol offenses.
Regarding drinking and driving:
Driving Under the Influence of
Alcohol or Drugs
The University prohibits the operation of a motor vehicle while intoxicated
or impaired. Any person doing so exhibits wanton disregard for
the rights and safety of others.
For purposes of this policy, “driving under the influence” is
defined as a situation in which the operator of any motorized vehicle
is determined by admission, by testing for blood alcohol content or
by commonly accepted behavioral observations (e.g., slurred speech,
staggering, etc.) to be driving such vehicle after having consumed
alcoholic beverages or ingested other drugs or legally controlled
substances which may alter, inhibit or impair a person’s condition
of thought and action.
Also for purposes of this policy, a first offense is a first-time
violation of the “driving under the influence” policy. A second
offense is a second violation of the “driving under the influence”
policy or a first-time violation of this policy with at least one
previous violation of the intoxication policy.
I. Violations and Sanctions
a. First offense: If a student is determined to have violated
this policy, the Office of Residence Life and Housing will:
1. Place the student on Disciplinary Probation for at
least one semester.
2. Require the student to participate in an alcohol
assessment at an appropriate assessing agency and
undertake alcohol education according to the
assessor’s determination.
3. Require the student to forfeit all University vehicle
registration and campus driving/parking privileges
for at least one semester.
4. Require the student to pay an appropriate monetary
fine or perform equivalent community service.
Since this is Floyd's first DUI it would constitute a first violation of "driving under the influence" and since they are still in the spring semester his probation could start now and go into the summer semester. If I'm reading the 4 points right Floyd would basically be subject to probation, alcohol classes, forfeit driving privileges, and pay a fine with some community service. It does not state expulsion from the school which is obviously huge. Best case scenario is Floyd does not participate in spring practice while he finishes up his obligations for first time offender during the summer semester and is thus granted full eligibility starting in the fall.
