Dave the Counselor always encourages me to address issues that pile up enough to bug me, so think of this as a session on the therapeutic couch.
I’m hearing giggles galore where it concerns Joe Cullen, the Detroit Lions defensive line coach.
Cullen was arrested twice in the past two weeks for alleged alcohol-related incidents, one in which he allegedly pulled his SUV into a Wendy’s restaurant and ordered a single-combo.
He happened to be naked at the time, allegedly.
An employee called the cops and he was ticketed on suspicion of indecent and obscene conduct. The Lions say alcohol was involved and suspended him for today’s game against the Seahawks.
This happened about a week before Cullen was pulled over and allegedly blew a 0.12.
The media and general public have enjoyed a good laugh over this. Name a punchline, Cullen’s on it. He’s the new star on the online joke circuit.
Call me a curmudgeon, but I fail to see the humor.
Cullen issued an apology to the team, fans, his family, friends and everyone else in the universe. Lions president Matt Millen said Cullen has requested treatment.
That’s the happy part of the whole story. At least now that he’s getting help, Cullen is addressing the problem and may finally learn why it’s best not to drive around after pounding multiple Budweisers.
It obviously didn’t sink in after he was fired in 2005 from the University of Mississippi after yet another alcohol-related arrest at a restaurant. Obviously, Cullen’s decision to get treatment comes later than what’s ideal, but at least he’s seeking help.
Is it just me, or have we lulled ourselves into becoming borderline accepting about drunken driving? The outrage doesn’t seem as furious as it once was. It doesn’t help when we read the nonchalant reactions of celebrities such as Paris Hilton, who, when asked about her DUI arrest last week, said, “It was nothing” and whined that everything she does is blown out of proportion.
Poor baby.
Well, Paris, you phenomenal bimbo, tell the families of the MADD-estimated 16,972 Americans killed in alcohol-related traffic accidents it was nothing.
As sad as it is, some of the most frequent terminators of drunken-driving outrage are those we hold to the highest standards.
Sports figures, idolized by millions of kids, show increasing disdain for what’s right with each drunken driving arrest. A partial list of recent delinquents: J.J. Redick, Eddie Griffin, former pitcher Lary Sorenson (a repeat offender, blowing a 0.35, a 0.31 and a 0.24 on separate occasions), Jim McMahon, Eddie Sutton, Jeff Garcia, Charles Woodson, JaRon Rush, Bob Probert and Koren Robinson.
Each risked killing himself and others because he chose to get behind the wheel while impaired.
It’s just not a laughing matter.
I have a list of other items, less serious, that I have to get off my chest.
Why do we believe, as global as high-level basketball is today, that we can throw together NBA studs for a month or two and expect to whip international teams that gear up for world competition?
Is anyone else worried about the ramifications of Michelle Wie’s eliminated childhood?
Why is the media shoving photos of Tom Cruise’s and Katie Holmes’ infant daughter down our throats? Poor kid looks like Dustin Hoffman’s character in “The Graduate.”
I have a hunch that we’ll be slack-jawed astonished when we learn the heartbreaking details of Maurice Clarett’s arrest and events that led to it.
Why does tennis need screwball personalities to sell itself to the public? Isn’t the beauty of Roger Federer’s game cool enough?
I’m saddened by “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin’s death, especially because of the sense that he performed many of his hazardous stunts simply to boost TV ratings.
Do American males have a chromosome that induces them take beer-league softball deathly seriously?
OK. My time is up. Thanks for listening, Doctor.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
