*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***
Jan 30, 1998: -- Rodgers Arrested for DUI; Other News --
** Derrick Rodgers Arrested for DUI in LA
Dolphins rookie linebacker Derrick Rodgers was arrested on
Wednesday in Los Angeles on charges of drunken driving. The incident
took place while Rodgers and fellow Dolphin Jason Taylor were driving
late at night after attending a comedy club in the LA area.
Reports indicate that the police had followed Rodgers and
Taylor for several blocks in their rental car. When Rodgers and
Taylor stopped at a supermarket, the officers approached the pair
because they said that Jason Taylor wasn't wearing a seatbelt, a
charge that Taylor denies.
When they approached the two players, they noticed alcohol on
Rodgers' breath and asked him to take a field sobriety test, which he
refused. According to police reports, Rodgers was belligerent,
sarcastic and uncooperative, but Jason Taylor calmed him down and
there are no reports of a scuffle of any kind.
After Rodgers was taken to jail in handcuffs, he finally
submitted to a breathalyzer test, which indicated that his blood
alcohol level was about .16 or about twice the .08 legal limit in
California.
Rodgers claims that the stop was racially motivated and he
intends to fight the charge in court on the basis that the police had
no cause to stop them.
** Ernie Zampese Hired By Patriots
Former Dallas offensive coordinator Ernie Zampese was hired by
the New England Patriots yesterday to be the Patriots' offensive
coordinator. This follows reports that Jimmy Johnson was interested
in hiring Zampese to succeed Gary Stevens as the Dolphins offensive
coordinator.
It is unknown whether or not the Dolphins actually tried to
hire Zampese away from the Cowboys. Zampese, when asked if the
Dolphins had contacted him about the Miami job, stated that he felt
that that was unimportant because he was now in New England. He
neither confirmed nor denied that he had talked to Miami.
However, a report out of Dallas this morning stated that the
Dolphins had never even asked permission to talk to Zampese about the
job.
** Marino's Arm Won't Need Surgery
In a confirmation of an earlier report that Dan wouldn't need
arm surgery, Dolphins' trainer Ryan Vermillion confirmed on Monday
that Dan's arm is recovering nicely with rest and rehabilitative
therapy and would not require surgery in the off-season.
Marino had an injured tendon in his throwing elbow during the
regular season, similar to the malady commonly known as tennis elbow.
However, rest and therapy are all that is required for a complete
recovery.
This is good news for Marino and for the team. Marino has had
9 operations during his NFL career, all to his lower legs.
** Dwight Stephenson Makes Hall of Fame
Former Dolphins' center Dwight Stephenson was finally voted to
the Pro Football Hall of Fame after years of missing out, it was
announced on Saturday. It took 5 years of voting for Stephenson to
get approved, but he was finally accept on Saturday.
Stephenson, a Dolphin for 7 years before an injury ended his
career prematurely, has been widely praised as the finest center of
his time. Dan Marino has said that Stephenson was the best he ever
played with.
My Comments:
It's getting a little tiresome to pick up the paper and read
about another Dolphin getting into trouble. Rodgers is supposed to be
more mature than his teammates and I think he would know better than
to get himself into trouble like this.
Still, the circumstances of the stop are somewhat
questionable. The police followed the car for several blocks and
didn't approach them until they stopped of their own volition to buy
some food in a SuperMarket.
I don't know about the law in California, but in many states,
the seatbelt laws are only supposed to be enforced if the car is
stopped for some other reason. Cars are not supposed to be stopped
for seatbelt violations alone. If that's true in California, then the
motivation for the officers approaching the two players is
questionable, especially in light of Taylor's assertion that he was
wearing his seatbelt.
Regardless of the motivation of the officers, however,
Rodgers' behavior was inexcusable. He should know that refusing to
take a sobriety test and resisting arrest would only cause him more
problems in the future.
Not to mention the fact that he was legally intoxicated and
shouldn't have been driving in the first place. I think that JJ needs
to fine him for violating the rules.
Now, the case may be thrown out if Rodgers can get a good
lawyer to raise questions about the cops' motivations for stopping
them in the first place, but that doesn't excuse what Rodgers did.
Moving on, it remains to be seen what the Patriots' hiring of
Zampese means to the Dolphins. First of all, JJ's desire to hire
Zampese is a rumor that has never been seriously confirmed.
Secondly, Zampese did not exactly light the world on fire this year
with the Dallas offense, which is more talented than Miami's.
While it isn't clear exactly what happened, I would bet that
Jerry Jones made it clear to Zampese in private that he wouldn't
approve a move to Miami. League rules basically allowed Jones to
approve any moves that Zampese would have made because of the fact
that Zampese was still under contract to Dallas. If that's the case,
then I figure that Zampese would have passed that along to the
Dolphins.
As to what happens now, it's anyone's guess. Lindy Infante is
still available, as is Don Strock and Dolphins' running backs coach
Kippy Brown. So we'll have to wait and see what happens. However,
the hiring of Zampese by the Patriots may cause JJ to finally get on
with his decision.
For Dwight Stephenson, I have only this to say - it's about
time.
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Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New Rochelle (almost)
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