What most Seattle Seahawks fans are wondering about in the wake of the Marshawn Lynch arrest is how deep his punishment will be. Will he earn a substantial suspension? Or will he get off with a smaller suspension or even warning on the issue?
It's not exactly the simplest of situations regarding Lynch because he's been punished for multiple transgressions that run across different codes of conduct. Albert Breer of NFL.com has more.
There is some grey area on whether or not Marshawn Lynch will be treated as a repeat offender if he's convicted of DUI, believe it or not.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) July 17, 2012
Lynch's first suspendable offense was under the personal conduct policy, this one would fall under the substance abuse policy. ...
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) July 17, 2012
... Under personal conduct policy, repeat offenders are those "who have had previous violations of law or of this policy." ...
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) July 17, 2012
... The issue is that the second offense was under the substance abuse policy, and that's where the grey area is. We'll see where it goes.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) July 17, 2012
Of course, things get a little bit clearer for Lynch if he manages to get out of court, which could still very well happen if no charges are brought against him. Tim Booth of the Associated Press has more.
Teresa Drenick, director of communications for the Alameda County district attorney's office, said Lynch was scheduled for an Aug. 14 preliminary court appearance and that any decision on charging Lynch will be made by then.
Drenick said the office has yet to receive the police report from the CHP.
The Lynch situation thus remains very fluid. If he gets charged, he probably earns a suspension, although we're not sure of the length. But he also might not get suspended if the league believes this is a first-time punishment rather than a series of reckless transgressions.
Talk about Lynch with Seahawks fans by heading on over to Field Gulls.
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