Alvin Kamara pleads no contest to lesser misdemeanor charge, jury trial is cancelled; civil suit also settled on confidential terms (1 Viewer)

[superchuck500]

I can't remember his name, But, if anyone can take credit for anything in this case. It was the guy who said, Greene and Kamara would settle this case w/$$$$$$. And with out Greene the DA would have to offer a plea deal w/ no jail time.

Myself, I thought the film evidence would be enough to go to trial. But, they were right. That is exactly what happened.

More than 9 out of 10 criminal cases settle with a plea. The odds against a trial were heavy, massive from day one - but here we don't know what the DA's posture was. You certainly seem to think that the DA was ready to put Kamara on trial and behind bars but then the victim took a settlement and refused to help the DA any further, so the DA was stuck and had to take a plea. I know that fact pattern happens a lot on crime shows on TV but I don't think the timeline here suggests that's what happened.

From the very beginning, the DA was willing to slow roll this case. After the initial arrest, the formal felony charges weren't filed until 12 months later. The initial scheduling conference wasn't until March 2023, with trial set for July 31. We know from Greene's attorney's public posts that that the civil settlement included an apology from Kamara. The attorney posted that apology yesterday and it is dated July 10. We know from local news coverage that the parties stipulated to dismiss the civil case yesterday. In other words, the civil settlement and the plea announcement all became final within hours of each other.

If the DA was lined up to go to trial (which happens in fewer than 1 out of 10 cases) and then the victim took money and indicated he wasn't going to assist the state anymore, do we really think the DA had a plea lined up to happen that same day? Like without any further thinking about their prospects at trial? What is far more reasonable and likely, is that the DA was willing to let the parties try to work it out and if they did, was willing to be flexible on the charges - so that everyone can put this matter to rest and move on. And that was part of the whole thing that made it work for Alvin to push to get the civil case resolved.

I just don't see any evidence that the DA wanted to try this case and then had to pivot because the victim was no longer going to assist. The DA didn't even need the victim to try this case other than to appear and testify as to the facts - which are on the video and he would have to do if he was subpoenaed. But there was really never any appearance that the DA was preparing for trial on this case.

 

[Semper]

Fairly positive the guy deserved something. You will never convince me that a guy talking sheet deserves a beat down from a bunch of men.

I am fairly positive that everyone here would speak a different tune if that was a father or brother. Is the guy a douche? Absolutely.

Do I think Kamara is a gang banger or something now? No, as I have said previously I don’t know him.

Does he deserve jail time? I don’t see the sense in that. He paid for his crime.

Do I look at him differently now? Yes. He is not the same. I am willing to bet money that Barry Sanders or Walter Payton would have never done this.

My opinion means nothing to AK. But I am entitled to my opinion. You don’t have to like it. As I said before I am not a fan of this type of thing. Worst case scenario it’s me that’s losing, not AK and not his fans.

As for the comments about cops and military members don’t put words in my mouth. If a cop or a military member crosses a line I am not cheering them on. But to the vast majority of cops and military members who sacrifice with very little pay you’re damn right they are my hero’s.

Athletes are athletes. I am not an athlete fan, I am a Saints fan. The individuals are who they are and they come and go. In 2 years AK will be on another team or out of the league, I will never quit watching the Saints because of an individual player.

As the saying goes, this too shall pass.

 

[ilvdsnts]

For assault... That's not what he plead to.

But thats what he did, its on the video, regardless of what he plead to.

 

[bigdaddysaints]

But thats what he did, its on the video, regardless of what he plead to.

We all know when it comes to the NFL, there is no real guideline. the NFL does what they want, usually with no rhyme or reason, its like they just pick it out of a hat.the only guideline they usually stick to is substance abuse, and even then sometimes it doesn't make sence.

 

[DaveXA]

Fairly positive the guy deserved something. You will never convince me that a guy talking sheet deserves a beat down from a bunch of men.

Maybe not, but sheet happens and people, even the best of us, find ourselves in unexpected situations at some point in our life. Sometimes we make the right decision, sometimes not. I wasn't in AK's shoes, so I can't say what got him to that point. Glass houses and all that.

I am fairly positive that everyone here would speak a different tune if that was a father or brother. Is the guy a douche? Absolutely.

If my brother acts like an idiot and gets a beat down, I won't be happy about it, but I'll be more mad at him for acting a fool than at those beating him up. FAAFO, yeah.

Do I think Kamara is a gang banger or something now? No, as I have said previously I don’t know him.

Does he deserve jail time? I don’t see the sense in that. He paid for his crime.

Do I look at him differently now? Yes. He is not the same. I am willing to bet money that Barry Sanders or Walter Payton would have never done this.

You're probably right, but none of us know that for sure. Everyone reacts differently in different situations. If it was something that has happened before, I'd probably think differently, but by all accounts, this isn't something anyone would have expected from him. For all we know, he may have overreacted to a guy antagonizing them. And fwiw, the victim here has a history of stuff like this and apparently had been banned from several casinos because of his actions.

My opinion means nothing to AK. But I am entitled to my opinion. You don’t have to like it. As I said before I am not a fan of this type of thing. Worst case scenario it’s me that’s losing, not AK and not his fans.

Most people aren't a fan of this type of thing. If this was my brother, I'd call him an idiot for doing that. That said, if this was totally out of the norm for him and he was provoked, I'd be mad, but wouldn't necessarily think less of him if he apologized and stayed out of trouble. Condemning him for one lapse in judgement just seems a bit much to me.

As for the comments about cops and military members don’t put words in my mouth. If a cop or a military member crosses a line I am not cheering them on. But to the vast majority of cops and military members who sacrifice with very little pay you’re damn right they are my hero’s.

Athletes are athletes. I am not an athlete fan, I am a Saints fan. The individuals are who they are and they come and go. In 2 years AK will be on another team or out of the league, I will never quit watching the Saints because of an individual player.

Players are human beings and they all have a story like most of us do. None of us are perfect and most of us don't have our every step scrutinized by the media and public. Had AK not been a public figure, none of us would have ever heard about this.

As the saying goes, this too shall pass.

Indeed.

 

[superchuck500]

But thats what he did, its on the video, regardless of what he plead to.

The policy is stated in terms of being "charged" with a violent felony - not what the end result is so the league could certainly say that the 6-game suspension is appropriate here. But there's also a tradition of letting the criminal charges work themselves out and then going from what the result is. The examples of this are many - just about every time there's a criminal case, the league waits to issue suspension, in part because cases are sometimes later dismissed without any penalty.

An example of that is the Melvin Gordon DUI. The league policy says players "charged with DUI" get a 3-game suspension, and Gordon was indeed charged with DUI. But he fought it and eventually the DA dropped the charges based on some concerns about how the officer conducted the traffic stop. The league deferred to this result and Gordon was not suspended.

So while the 6-game suspension for being charged with a violent felony is still on the table, I personally think it will be fewer based on the final result being a misdemeanor and the victim's case is also resolved and dismissed.

 

[Merl]

We all know when it comes to the NFL, there is no real guideline. the NFL does what they want, usually with no rhyme or reason, its like they just pick it out of a hat.the only guideline they usually stick to is substance abuse, and even then sometimes it doesn't make sence.

False. Here is a link to the NFL Personal Conduct policy.

https://nflpaweb.blob.core.windows.net/website/Departments/Salary-Cap-Agent-Admin/2022-NFL-Personal-Conduct-Policy.pdf

 

[bigdaddysaints]

False. Here is a link to the NFL Personal Conduct policy.

https://nflpaweb.blob.core.windows.net/website/Departments/Salary-Cap-Agent-Admin/2022-NFL-Personal-Conduct-Policy.pdf

so you are telling me they strictly stick to that policy? that they don't devaite from it all the time? they always have had a conduct policy, what makes you think they'll "stick to this one" unlike the previous ones?

 

[Merl]

so you are telling me they strictly stick to that policy? that they don't devaite from it all the time? they always have had a conduct policy, what makes you think they'll "stick to this one" unlike the previous ones?

This was the latest update to the policy and it went into effect last year and it was the policy used in the Desean Watson situation last year. You really think the NFLPA would not say anything if the NFL just handed down a punishment that doesn't go through this process? Not a chance in hell.

The information the NFL has collected will be turned over the the retired judge that was jointly hired and she will make her decision likely sometime in the next month. After that either side can appeal her decision to the Commisioner who can then make a final ruling.

 

[superchuck500]

This was the latest update to the policy and it went into effect last year and it was the policy used in the Desean Watson situation last year. You really think the NFLPA would not say anything if the NFL just handed down a punishment that doesn't go through this process? Not a chance in hell.

The information the NFL has collected will be turned over the the retired judge that was jointly hired and she will make her decision likely sometime in the next month. After that either side can appeal her decision to the Commisioner who can then make a final ruling.

Thanks for posting that - it's helpful to understand the nuts and bolts of the process. I agree, the league isn't going to deviate from it.

But based on how it is worded, it remains true that the league has enough information to conclude that Kamara violated the policy and will be disciplined, but the policy language leaves some room for Kamara to avoid the 6-game "baseline suspension" for felony battery. There is a bit of a conflict of language between being "charged" and having a "disposition" - with the word disposition appearing in the disciplinary section. Kamara was charged with felonies but the disposition was a misdemeanor.

I think if the league wants to come down on this, the disciplinary officer can justify the 6-game suspension under the policy. But there's plenty of room for it to be fewer based on the misdemeanor disposition, the victim is satisfied, and the fact that Kamara has no other history and a good record of community involvement.

 

[SonOfNOLA]

Scheduled trial officially cancelled

 

[saint_drago]

I keep reading these comments about how AK let people down and they will never look at him the same way again. I just don't get it. He beat a guy up. He didn't drug and rape women. He didn't torture and execute a bunch of animals. He didn't have his wife murdered or actually do the deed himself. He didn't kill somebody while driving drunk. Some guy was running off at the mouth and he caught a beatdown over it. This is hardly the first time an athlete got into a dust up. Hell Charles Barkley is a national treasure and he once flung a dude through a plate glass window.

Chuck was right when he said that athletes aren't role models. They are held up to this absurd standard and people act shocked when they turn out to be human beings. AK made a mistake. I'm sure if he had it to do all over again he would've kept his hands in his pockets. But life doesn't have rewind. In that moment he acted on emotion and that's something that every single person here is guilty of in some form or fashion. Just think about the worst mistake you've ever made. Now imagine that it was recorded for the world to see. What would the world think of you? Would it be fair if you were judged solely by that one mistake? Would it be fair if you were labeled as a thug or creep or low life because of that one bad decision?

I've made enough mistakes in my life that it's hard for me to fault others when they make theirs.

 

[saintmike23]

Now we can trade AK for a 2nd round pick. (Ducks for cover)

 

[Madmarsha]

Well, here's another Vegas brawl.

 

[Madmarsha]

More than 9 out of 10 criminal cases settle with a plea. The odds against a trial were heavy, massive from day one - but here we don't know what the DA's posture was. You certainly seem to think that the DA was ready to put Kamara on trial and behind bars but then the victim took a settlement and refused to help the DA any further, so the DA was stuck and had to take a plea. I know that fact pattern happens a lot on crime shows on TV but I don't think the timeline here suggests that's what happened.

From the very beginning, the DA was willing to slow roll this case. After the initial arrest, the formal felony charges weren't filed until 12 months later. The initial scheduling conference wasn't until March 2023, with trial set for July 31. We know from Greene's attorney's public posts that that the civil settlement included an apology from Kamara. The attorney posted that apology yesterday and it is dated July 10. We know from local news coverage that the parties stipulated to dismiss the civil case yesterday. In other words, the civil settlement and the plea announcement all became final within hours of each other.

If the DA was lined up to go to trial (which happens in fewer than 1 out of 10 cases) and then the victim took money and indicated he wasn't going to assist the state anymore, do we really think the DA had a plea lined up to happen that same day? Like without any further thinking about their prospects at trial? What is far more reasonable and likely, is that the DA was willing to let the parties try to work it out and if they did, was willing to be flexible on the charges - so that everyone can put this matter to rest and move on. And that was part of the whole thing that made it work for Alvin to push to get the civil case resolved.

I just don't see any evidence that the DA wanted to try this case and then had to pivot because the victim was no longer going to assist. The DA didn't even need the victim to try this case other than to appear and testify as to the facts - which are on the video and he would have to do if he was subpoenaed. But there was really never any appearance that the DA was preparing for trial on this case.

That's a very terse apology letter. It apparently suffices for the terms of the settlement as both sides seem satisfied. Which makes me believe more wholeheartedly now that the speculation that there was a lot more going on here regarding the plaintiff's behavior that lead up to AK's involvement was correct. I'm going to put it behind me and hope that AK will not let this repeat itself.