Yo, Donovan, Call Me Next Time
Donovan McNabb must have the same lawyer as Randy Johnson (see post of March 29).
As this story explains, McNabb and his Eagles teammate Jeremiah Trotter were contesting citations they received for parking in spaces reserved for persons with disabilities. A mother of a young woman with a disability has been on a campaign in South Jersey to have those who park in accessible spaces punished in accordance with state law.
Who is giving legal advice to these athletes? McNabb actually brought a lawyer with him to contest the citation, despite the picture that the mom had of his car in the parking space. Although McNabb was in the hospital recovering from surgery when the car was illegally parked, as the owner of the car he is legally responsible. In addition to what he paid his lawyer, he ended up paying a fine and court costs of under $300.
Hello? Why pay a lawyer and look like an insensitive lout over such a small amount? McNabb should simply have paid the fine and issued the following statement: "I understand that parking in a space reserved for persons with disabilities is wrong and causes problems for those who need to use such spaces. Although I was not driving my car when this incident occurred, I apologize for what happened. I have spoken to my family and those that work for me and made clear to them that my car should never be parked in spaces reserved for persons with disabilities. In addition, in order to help get this message out, I have donated $2,500 to [disability-related charity of McNabb's choice]."
Trotter should have done the same thing. Although it is easy for me to spend their money, once the lawyers are paid and their time is accounted for, this is probably not any more than they shelled out anyway. And they would have gotten major credit for turning a potential negative into a positive. I am particularly surprise that McNabb, who strikes me as a smart, decent, and image-conscious guy, took the route he did.
As this story explains, McNabb and his Eagles teammate Jeremiah Trotter were contesting citations they received for parking in spaces reserved for persons with disabilities. A mother of a young woman with a disability has been on a campaign in South Jersey to have those who park in accessible spaces punished in accordance with state law.
Who is giving legal advice to these athletes? McNabb actually brought a lawyer with him to contest the citation, despite the picture that the mom had of his car in the parking space. Although McNabb was in the hospital recovering from surgery when the car was illegally parked, as the owner of the car he is legally responsible. In addition to what he paid his lawyer, he ended up paying a fine and court costs of under $300.
Hello? Why pay a lawyer and look like an insensitive lout over such a small amount? McNabb should simply have paid the fine and issued the following statement: "I understand that parking in a space reserved for persons with disabilities is wrong and causes problems for those who need to use such spaces. Although I was not driving my car when this incident occurred, I apologize for what happened. I have spoken to my family and those that work for me and made clear to them that my car should never be parked in spaces reserved for persons with disabilities. In addition, in order to help get this message out, I have donated $2,500 to [disability-related charity of McNabb's choice]."
Trotter should have done the same thing. Although it is easy for me to spend their money, once the lawyers are paid and their time is accounted for, this is probably not any more than they shelled out anyway. And they would have gotten major credit for turning a potential negative into a positive. I am particularly surprise that McNabb, who strikes me as a smart, decent, and image-conscious guy, took the route he did.
posted by FCB at 9:34 PM
1 Comments:
Iagree with you completely - I don't know why he fought it at all. I thought he was much more PR savy!! He ought to be ashamed of himself.
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