Lawrence and Bennett Convicted of drink driving

[Marriot Ram99]

Any chance they actually go to prison? I doubt it would happen but you never know.

[Marriot Ram99]

1 minute ago, GadFly said:

Out of curiosity... How many blokes did Lawrence and Bennett have to beat off to get their jobs?

Probably a fair few scouts

[Mucker1884]

7 minutes ago, Marriott Ram99 said:

Probably a fair few scouts

Bloody hell... I'm glad dad made me join the Brownies now!

 

 

Oh, wait...

[oldtimeram]

2 hours ago, Paul71 said:

If it had been hughes would you say the same?  Just asking not leading.

Yes absolutely. No exceptions 

[BramcoteRam84]

Sadly if we sack them both we lose out more than they do. They’ll get other clubs and employment and in Lawrence’s case probably a similar contract. 

Should they be sacked? People have been sacked for such indiscretions but I know people who also haven’t been sacked. I don’t know what my company would do to me if I was caught drink driving.

I think fines and suspension from the team for a period will suffice. They need to face the music on this and accept all criticism. They’ve ducked up royally. Arrogance personified! Disgraceful. 

In Lawrence’s case particularly given the stick he already gets from many fans this is not going to get his critics on side.

They can only turn this around by accepting their wrongs, being humble and working hard to play well. Hopefully this incident will work as a positive life reflection for both of them.

[Sexydadbod]

Get rid of these two idiots in January. An absolute waste of space, I cannot stand drink drivers or anyone who drives recklessly on roads. If you want to put yourself in danger thats fine, but don’t put innocent people at risk. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were boy racing, clowns.  

[cannable]

50 minutes ago, Mucker1884 said:

My understanding... rightly or wrongly... was that he was charged, and jailed, for not providing a breath sample.  Strictly speaking... in the eyes of the law, (if not in the eyes of the video audience!), nobody knows whether he was "drunk whilst driving".  That's the whole point of the subsequent charge, and the subsequent jail sentence.

Good point well made.

As bad as it is, the advice for a crash whilst drunk is to run away and hand yourself in when you’ve sobered up as it’ll be a lesser charge.

[MACKWORTHRAM]

Apparently the hospital thought Lawrence had lost the use of his legs but then somebody watched the videos of the first 8 games of the season.

[Ken Tram]

I am not entirely sure that I expect professional sportsmen to be drinking alcohol during the season - let alone so much that they crash two-ton vehicles. 

My medic friend described drink-driving as the equivalent of walking down the road swinging a sledgehammer around their head.

I expect them to be aiming for peak fitness - mental and physical - to give us the edge each match.

[Sexydadbod]

7 hours ago, RoyMac5 said:

This one caught my eye...

 

When people were mentioning the event Bennett had been to, I thought they meant an event of about a year ago but in the space of less than 24 hours? Absolute thicko

[G-Ram]

Theyre both idiots that should know better. Theyve let themselves & the club down. No excuses for this 

I appreciate everyone makes mistakes but in my opinion its a scumbag thing to do. Both should know better. Even when you're not playing you are representing the club & yourself. Pathetic in my opinion. Both are role models to kids. Its really poor. We all make mistakes & not bothered if other players from other clubs have done it. It doesn't excuse them

Philip Cocu has better things to be doing than answering questions about this at any future press conferences. His job is to manage the team. Not be quizzed on the actions of two mindless idiots

Its up to the club what they do & i'll back their decision. Commercially makes no sense to cancel contracts but wouldn't be bothered if they did. But cant see the point 

Think most people have lost respect for them. The best thing they can do is take responsibility, take whatever punishment the police throw at them. Instead of a fine make a donation to a charity, Appologise and actually mean it in the press, knuckle down in games, grow up and earn the respect of the fans and their team mates back

[kash_a_ram_a_ding_dong]

Having dealt with the effects of fatal road traffic collisions involving alcohol I'm afraid I have zero tolerance for those who get into a vehicle and drive,putting themselves and more importantly other road users at risk.....

I appreciate that tom has had to cope with devastating news in the last few months but how would he have felt if he had taken another's life as a result of his irresponsibility....Mason has even less excuse.

These guys are embassadors for our club and also role models for the young people who follow the club...their behaviour resonates with those kids and they should be absolutely ashamed of themselves for letting everyone down.

I hope that Mel and the club punish them appropriately for this incident and they will obviously feel the full force of the law when the investigation is concluded......

I personally do not want them to be dismissed however.

They are both young lads who can learn and reflect on their actions and hopefully they will be compelled into some form of restorative justice whereby they make sort of amends and used to illustrate the horrendous consequences of drink driving.

[Andicis]

4 hours ago, ilkleyram said:

OK all of you in the hang 'em, shoot 'em, flog 'em and sack 'em brigade, hands up all of you who in your early to mid 20's didn't ever do anything stupid or even very stupid, whether you got caught or not.  Nah, not many.

20 now, but I'm not arrogant enough to potentially risk other people's lives because I can't be arsed to call a cab. 

[TommyPowell]

7 hours ago, cannable said:

Don’t be ridiculous. You wouldn’t even necessarily be sacked from your job if you weren’t a multi-million pound commodity.

Its you being ridiculous for your suggestion that they shouldnt be punished because they are multi million pound commodity,therefore suggesting status stops them being punished to harshly and has nothing to do with their crime.I personally am not sure but what i do know people do get sacked for committing a crime

[lukedcfc]

1 hour ago, Marriott Ram99 said:

Any chance they actually go to prison? I doubt it would happen but you never know.

No chance, lesson learned for them, hopefully.

[RadioactiveWaste]

40 minutes ago, Ken Tram said:

I am not entirely sure that I expect professional sportsmen to be drinking alcohol during the season - let alone so much that they crash two-ton vehicles. 

My medic friend described drink-driving as the equivalent of walking down the road swinging a sledgehammer around their head.

I expect them to be aiming for peak fitness - mental and physical - to give us the edge each match.

I'd have thought a little sense and moderation during the season and it'd be fine - like so much in life, a little is a pleasure to be enjoyed. I can just imagine, hypothetically, if in reaction the club brought in some hard and fast no alcohol rules in response  they'd become even less popular in the squad than this is likely to make them. Bit of sense, no problem.

[maxjam]

Don't really want to comment on the story until the facts are known, trial by media (or forum users in this case) is imho, unhealthy. 

If (as tbh looks likely) they are found guilty however I'd expect the courts to deal with them accordingly and for MM to take appropriate action.  For what its worth, my opinion is that anything other than a prison sentence (and assuming they show genuine contrition) should mean they are allowed to reabilitate themselves and grow as human beings within the club.

[Jourdan]

I don’t know the ins and outs of the case, but it is an extremely poor reflection on the players.

What would concern me is that this is possibly not an isolated incident. Is there possibly a culture amongst footballers that says drink driving is acceptable? It makes you wonder.

Do I think professional footballers should have a drink? Yes, I see no reason why not. The occasional quiet drink at your local, a few glasses of wine over dinner, a few beers at a friend’s house are all perfectly normal and moderated situations any of us could find ourselves in. They could do this and no one would bat an eyelid, as it wouldn’t impact their ability to train and perform on the pitch.

But they should be responsible about it. I don’t see any defence for their actions. 

Let’s face it, you know before you go out whether you are likely to drink or not and to what extent and you make suitable plans for getting home.

They could have easily ordered a taxi, they could have arranged getting a lift from a partner, relative or a family friend, or someone from their party could have been the designated driver.

Even if you haven’t been personally affected by drink driving, the dangers are well known and it is so common that you are likely to know someone who has been affected. Ultimately two people in their position - professional athletes with young families - should know better.

There is no justification for putting themselves in a situation that could endanger both themselves and others, and bring their professionalism into question.

The timing is especially bad, coming at a time when the club is struggling and both players should fighting tooth and nail to either get fit, or get in the team and produce their best form for the club to help turn results around.

People are only human and anyone can make a mistake. But you know that when you sign that first contract as a professional footballer, it is a great privilege and with that privilege, rightly or wrongly, you are held to a higher standard.

It’s a massive let down for everyone at the club, and an unwelcome distraction.

Should they be sacked? No. Should they be warned about future conduct? Yes. Should they be heavily punished and then given a chance to redeem themselves? Absolutely.

 

[S8TY]

We are struggling for form and have lost some decent players in the summer....I was hoping all the players and staff would be working there socks off and pulling together  to get us going back up the table 

We don’t have loads of choices as our squad seems to be lacking quality and now this happens!!!?

if I was Cocu and the rest of the squad I’d feel very let down by these two clowns .....I’m actually not that bothered if we never see them in a rams shirt again ??

[Patrick Rams]

8 hours ago, NewtonRamDE55 said:

People saying we should cancel their contacts etc, completely disagree. Fine them, suspend them for a few weeks but to release two fairly good players is ridiculous. If they had injured somebody else I would have a different opinion on it but the only thing they hurt was themselves, their cars and their wallets. And no, before people start saying that I 'support drink driving', absolutely not, but releasing them won't do any good. The best way to punish them is to dock pay, suspend them for a bit and make them go on a drink driving course etc (as well as whatever the court decides). Disagree with me all you like but that's my opinion.

The fact they didn't injure an innocent person is down to pure luck...yet you seem to be taking this bit of good fortune as a mitigating factor? The fact is drunk drivers regularly kill people and they both should be sacked if found guilty in a court of law... that's my opinion.