11/05/24
April 05, 2006
Doc Gooden Chooses Jail Over Rehab: Prosecutor Pam Bondi said Gooden chose the minimum one-year-and-one-day prison sentence instead because the judge said Gooden would receive a five-year sentence if he accepted the rehabilitation term and then slipped back into drug use. Sounds like he doesn't think he can quit. That's really sad.
He can get more DOPE in jail than in Rehab. Ton's of drugs in jail.
posted by Key West Jeff at 02:56 PM on April 05, 2006
And when he gets out, there is apparently lots more DOPE waiting for him in Key West.
posted by BullpenPro at 03:00 PM on April 05, 2006
I guess he wanted to reunite with darryl strawberry at some point...it's all really sad, he had a ton of potential when he started.
posted by FozzFest at 03:28 PM on April 05, 2006
Sounds like he doesn't think he can quit. That's really sad. Sounds to me like he knows he can't quit and doesn't want to. Thats not really sad thats really stupid. No matter how much some people have, they're determined to throw it away. How stupid can you be. He should have taken the rehab deal. Sure if he got busted again it would have meant 5 years, but the truth is when he gets out of jail after serving this sentance, he will get busted again and next time they will send him away for 5 years anyway. Then after that....three strikes, life. At least thats the deal here in California. He has the money to lock himself in a room and have the drugs sent in until he kills himself, so what's he waiting for. The fact he gets busted so many times is a testiment to his unbelievable stupidity.
posted by Atheist at 03:57 PM on April 05, 2006
I believe you meant to replace stupidity with the word addiction. Unless, of course, you don't believe cocaine to be highly addictive.
posted by willthrill72 at 04:10 PM on April 05, 2006
He's had a coke problem for years I actually feel sorry for him I had a weed problem for 10+yrs but every time he's done it well not every time he ends up in the paper He'll always have a coke problem I can understand why he took the jail time he can start doing it again when he gets out also he'll probably do it in jail
posted by luther70 at 04:20 PM on April 05, 2006
I keep hearing Rick James saying "Cocaine is a hell of a drug" in my head. I wonder if Doc says it too? Atheist, stupidity and addiction are sometimes really hard to tell apart. In this instance, I'd go with addiction and he knows it. That's sad.
posted by fenriq at 04:22 PM on April 05, 2006
I work with a lot of young people who are involved with the law and probation, and Athiest is right. Many would just as soon serve a full year in jail than have to be on probation for several years. They want to do the jail time and, when they get out, have a clean slate. Will they (or Gooden, in this case) stay out of trouble after that year? Doubtful. But in their minds, they either kid themselves into believing they can, or are willing to risk it.
posted by dyams at 05:12 PM on April 05, 2006
BullpenPro, Don't be jealous because you live the CT. I'm going to take your advice, because I have no idea of what I am supposed to be jealous. Most people in the North East think they're better than everyone else. Are you one of them? Are you suggesting that if people think they're better than you, they necessarily think they're better than everyone else? Sounds to me like you think you're better than everyone else. Maybe you should move up here. For the record, I don't think I'm better than you. I don't know you. I think in the short time you've been here you've made comments that were a tad insensitive, a tad foolish, a tad silly, a tad irrelevant, and a tad offensive. It would be hypocritical of me to be too critical of you, since I've certainly crossed all those lines myself. As for Gooden, I feel bad for him. My impression is that his life has been a series of bad decisions, bad advice, bad friends, bad luck, and a total wisdom void in his universe. I don't mean to take him off the hook altogether, but I also don't think it's as simple as "unbelievable stupidity." His failure comes from a recipe.
posted by BullpenPro at 05:49 PM on April 05, 2006
that's one hell of a recipe....I t is partial stupidity, but to make bad choice after bad choice, it makes it easier for the odds to stack against you... I think it started as a bad habit, but this is more than that...unless the coke amazingly flew up his nose by itself it is hardly bad luck though
posted by FozzFest at 07:05 PM on April 05, 2006
Nothing like staying in jail 366 days so you can get out and do what got you there to begin with. Idiot.
posted by dbt302 at 08:22 PM on April 05, 2006
Gooden had the world at his doorstep and threw it away. What is so ''sad'' about a looser who makes stupid choices? It is always bad advice, bad friends, etc. He is an adult and is responsible for his decisions.
posted by joromu at 09:03 PM on April 05, 2006
What is so ''sad'' about a looser who makes stupid choices? Someone who misspells "loser" is even more sad.
posted by njsk8r20 at 09:16 PM on April 05, 2006
one poor choice is SAD.....MAKING the SAME mistakes time after time...year after year....throwing away your life is...................... idiotic.
posted by tommybiden at 10:03 PM on April 05, 2006
can you say and spell sadder skater ?
posted by hoopsterini at 10:21 PM on April 05, 2006
I know all of you are probably family and human service professionals, doctors, drug counselors, and social workers, so my opinion is probably is probably less educated than the rest of you, but I saw my sister throw away alot because of a crystal meth addiction. I know it's possible to quit drugs, because I have witnesed people do it, but I think to truly quit drugs is akin to having the willpower to train for and complete an Ironman Triathlon. Furthermore, when you finish the triathlon, you can stop working out if you want to and still say you finished one; quitting drugs is like waking up every morning for the rest of your life and having the tenacity to keep on training for the next one. My sister I believe genuinely made many efforts to quit, and I think if she had found it in her to throw every last piece of effort into her body she may have, but the reality is that most people I know simply lack the ability to throw all of them selves into something. All of you judges out there, who have never had first hand experience with the thing, try and think about all the things you promised yourself you would do and then failed at, and after you do that maybe think about cutting Mr. Gooden some slack, or if not that just try to be a little compassionate to him or to others who are stuck in a world that you can't even contemplate. Sorry if I got too heavy.
posted by everett at 03:45 AM on April 06, 2006
Nice comment, everett.
posted by bperk at 08:03 AM on April 06, 2006
any hope for getting off dope begins and ends with the individual - god helps those who help themselves - if someone truly wants to end that lifestyle they have the power to stop - they can get it if they really want it , it's about truth with yourself - when i looked at it honestly, god took away the desire to drink in that very moment and i havent touched it since - i'm thankful my lowest point came before i (or somebody else) was dead !
posted by hoopsterini at 09:45 AM on April 06, 2006
Why do you keep taking off my post? Do I scare you? Coward!
posted by Key West Jeff at 01:40 PM on April 06, 2006
If not can you tell me why? There are people on hear saying very rude things. Why do you cancle my post? Please tell me. Is Bullpen your freind?
posted by Key West Jeff at 01:47 PM on April 06, 2006
Look at the contribution everett made, then look at the contribution you made. If you're still confused, you might be a troll. Enjoy the sunset.
posted by yerfatma at 02:12 PM on April 06, 2006
Everett - I do feel compasion for children born into poverty, or victims of crime, accidents, war, and other circumstances beyond their control. Many poeple are ravaged by disease, and die prematurely from cancer etc. But forgive me if I feel little sympathy for some idiot who is blessed with athletic talent, becomes a millionaire, and can't stop shoving coke up his nose. I personally am tired of the "its a disease excuse", especially coming from a guy who can go to the best rehab center if he chooses. This idiot is the only one responisble for his problem and he doesn't have the excuse of poverty, despair or little opportunity for anything better. Actually I do know a lot about this kind of problem and frankly it all boils down to will and determination. It goes to show you how many athletes succede on natural ability since it obvious some successful ones have little in the will and determination department. I'll save my sympathy for someone that deserves it.
posted by Atheist at 03:53 PM on April 06, 2006
Perhaps, Doc is showing a little courage and not stupidity. He knows that he can't quit. He knows he will not be able to get coked up in jail. He knows that his addiction will kill him. Maybe he knows that this is his best chance to survive. It would have been easy for him to accept the probation. I'm sure his addiction was telling him to. He could have gotten high at least one more time. An addiction is a desperate thing, it doesn't allow for planning on getting high in 366 days. Doc did not make a decision that a coward or an idiot would have made. He went to a probation meeting high as a kite. Idiocy or desperation? That's hard to judge. Accepting prison knowing you weren't gonna get your fix, that's courageous.
posted by tselson at 04:16 PM on April 06, 2006
I agree with atheist in that athletes can afford the best medical care out of anybody (see Magic Johnson), which means that they have the best chance of over coming addiction because of their treatment. In Gooden's case, I think that he just cannot quit, and maybe doesn't want to. If he did, I'm sure he could find something top notch to help him do it.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 05:10 PM on April 06, 2006
Accepting prison knowing you weren't gonna get your fix, that's courageous. Call me silly but I describe the firefighters at the World Trade Center on 9/11, or the Marines on duty in Iraq as courageous. It's harldy the word I would use to describe a spoiled millioniare athlete who can't stop snorting coke. Courageous people face their problems and handle them, they do not turn to drugs and fail at every second and third and fourth chance their given. Coward and idiot are the more apropo words to describe this dude.
posted by Atheist at 05:13 PM on April 06, 2006
Sorry, I have been there. The only thing courageous is quitting. I was an idiot. I made plenty of foolish, selfish mistakes and I quit without clinics or rehab or the threat of jail time. I quit because it was best for me and my family. This is about the choices one makes. MS is a disease. MD is a disease. Alzheimer's is a disease. 9 times out of 10, I would say, the drug addicted person CHOSE to ingest their drug of choice. To categorize addicts with people who suffer from diseases is just wrong. This is from my long-ago past and I don't like to revisit it, but I do feel strongly about how people perceive the addicted. It's not glamorous, and those of us who have made it back are not "heroic". We're just better now.
posted by THX-1138 at 05:25 PM on April 06, 2006
yerfatma, He couldn't have read the few post I added unless your life is on this Blogs. Still more DOPE in jail than in Rehab. Speaking of trolls....
posted by Key West Jeff at 08:07 PM on April 06, 2006
Well said, well said.
posted by yerfatma at 08:25 PM on April 06, 2006
yerfatma, How do you make a column on this site. I see you have pretty much knowledge doing the blog. Send an email to keywestjeff@hotmail.com if you can help me on this subject. I would really appreciate it.
posted by Key West Jeff at 02:05 PM on April 07, 2006
I guess he's playing the odds. The look in his eyes...man, just sad.