| 26 June 2010
UPDATE Sunday 11:30 pm: I was out of the house all day, but I didn't expect much of a response out of the Lions' Allen Park HQ over Lewand-gate (is it too early to add the "gate" suffix?). Turns out I didn't miss much.
There was good reason the news of Lewand's arrest broke late Saturday evening, in the hope it would be ignored or buried by the rest of the weekend's news. No such luck, thanks to WXTZ's Tom Leyden, his Twitter stream and the Detroit blogoshpere, who were on the story well before the local newspapers.
Though nothing in the way of actual comment was made by the team on Sunday, the Lions did release a pair of carefully worded statements to the media.
William Clay Ford: "Tom made a very serious mistake and he appropriately owned up to that mistake.
"As he continues to seek professional assistance for this problem, the Lions will support and help him in any way possible.
"I continue to have full confidence that Tom will positively lead our organization as he has since assuming his current role of team president. He has all my support."
Jim Schwartz: "Tom's leadership was very instrumental in my decision to become head coach of the Detroit Lions.
"I fully support his commitment to recovery."
Well said...by Lions' PR.
If asked off the record, I'd bet both Ford and Schwartz would have something a little more forceful to say. Well, Schwartz would, all I'd expect out of the old man is...
Obviously, they would be sympathetic to Lewand's "recovery" issues, but can't be at all happy with the situation he has placed the franchise.
Lewand is the key man in the front office when it comes to financials, and the Lions are trying to get their draft picks under contract. It's going to be hard to sign Ndamukong Suh when your chief negotiator is is sitting in stir.
As for Lewand's fate, I'm sure Roger Goodell will get involved, and do so soon. In fact, the NFL has confirmed Lewand's arrest may mean he's violated the league's personal conduct policy. So I doubt the Lions will dole out anything in the way of punishment until the NFL has their say.
UPDATE Sunday 12:45 am: According to WXYZ, Lewand's arrest happened Friday night in Roscommon county. The Detroit News reports Lewand was playing in a charity golf outing in Houghton Lake. The tie to the Lions being the event was founded by the late Bob Kowalski, an offensive lineman for the team in the 70's.
There's been no statemernts released by the Lions franchise, other than Lewand's mea culpa...which mentions "active recovery." Is Lewand saying he's a recovering alcoholic who fell off the wagon? That's news to everyone, I believe.
Original post, Saturday 11 pm: In news just breaking over the local airwaves, it's being reported Detroit Lions President Tom Lewand was arrested, then released, on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.
That's the official word. But to put it bluntly, Lewand was busted for drunk driving.
Detorit Lions President and William Clay Ford's right hand man, Tom Lewand
Tom Leyden, WXYZ-TV sports anchor, has posted Lewand's statement on Twitter:
Breaking: #Lions president Tom Lewand has been arrested and released in Roscommon County, drunken driving suspected.
Lewand Statement: Part 1 - "I am deeply sorry for my actions and take full responsibility for them. As a person in active recovery...
... I am committed to taking all necessary steps to insure nothing like this ever happens again."
We should hope so.
This is the last thing the Lions need. Not that Lewand is actively involved in procuring personnel, but he is the team capologist. Lewand has plenty of say in the negotating of contracts. He has more important things to do than getting piss drunk, then getting behind the wheel.
I called Jim Schwartz dumb a couple of days ago when he pointed fingers at the media. Compared to the stunt Lewand pulled, Schwartz's handling of the media was genius.
Just stupid. God damn stupid.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
