In case you haven’t heard, Jerry Brown died in a car crash caused by drunk driving. No, not that Jerry Brown, not the Governor Jerry Brown. Jerry Brown, practice squad linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys, died when his fellow teammate Josh Brent drove recklessly after partying in a club, which is now being investigated by Texas authorities.
Drunk driving is a serious problem in the NFL and in the whole nation. Just a few weeks ago, 49ers hybrid defensive tackle/tight end Demarcus Dobbs was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. He crashed into a chain-link fence and a bush and luckily was not severely injured. He is now on the Injured Reserve with a knee injury caused by the sport of football.
Driving while intoxicated has been burned into our heads. Don’t do it. Have a designated driver. Call a cab. With Josh Brent and Jerry Brown, the NFL Players Association provides a free, confidential, 24-hour carpool service and yet they still decided to get behind the wheel, and they paid the dire consequences. Brown is dead and Brent is facing manslaughter charges. While us common people who don’t have such luxury, there are so many ways to get home safely when you have had a bottle too many. Ring a cab. There is an urban legend that this method is not as safe as it seems because a drunken person is vulnerable and you’re relying on a stranger to drive you home in the wee hours of the night. Taxi drivers are licensed drivers; they’re monitored by a camera, and when have you heard of a cab driver killing a client? It’s actually the other way around. It’s more likely the cab driver could be attacked by a client. The myth is absurd.
Take Brown’s death as a cautionary tale, as if there aren’t enough. The number of DUI’s are rising, despite the increased awareness on drunk driving. Like the clichéd quote says: “Don’t be a statistic.”