ESPN and the Associated Press reported earlier this morning that Steve McNair had alcohol in his system at the time of his death with the headline “McNair Twice The Legal Limit At Time Of Death” or something very similar. In the body of the article, the AP again stated that McNair was “twice the legal limit” when he was shot. No mention of the fact that this limit related to driving or DUI was included in the article.
Hi, my name is Booze and I have been unfairly blamed for people's conduct for over a thousand years.
Apparently, someone with half a brain pointed out to ESPN that it is not illegal to have alcohol in your system when sleeping on your couch (That’s right, folks — we’ve repealed prohibition. You are free to drink yourself to sleep every night. God knows I do.) and the article has since been changed to this.
Repeatedly stating that McNair was “twice the legal” limit without qualification makes about as much sense as describing a plane which crashed by stating it was exceeding the speed limit for the roadway on which it attempted to land. Neither fact is even remotely relevant. There are enough angles in the McNair story (sordid and not-so-sordid) without adding any based on a misapplied blame on alchohol.
Contrary to popular belief, there are reasons besides alcohol, tobacco, and firearms that people misbehave. Sometimes they are just assholes.
[...] Michael Vick, and the accompanying reaction of Tony Dungy, and it reminded me of the reports of Steve McNair’s BAC surfacing at the time of his death. Both stories seem to be unnecessary criticisms of guys who [...]