Ben Wallace

You've probably read the stories about the NBA star in the papers. He got popped for a DUI and some gun charges a while back, but did you ever really think about how all this supposedly went down?

Consider:

From what I gather, he was initially pulled over for driving "erratically". That was never fully explained. However, in Oakland County, many motorists call it something else. "Dodging potholes". They're everywhere. So who knows?

Wallace admitted to having 4 beers in the course of 2 hours, and his blood-alcohol level registered .14, well above the .08 limit. Guess what? If 4 beers in 2 hours gets a man of his size to almost double the limit, then some petite lady stopping off to unwind with a small glass of wine on her way home from work would likely be a potential criminal as well.  We all know what menaces to society THEY are. Given those standards, even if they drive perfectly, why not just pull over every patron exiting a sports bar on football Sunday?  Chances are they're ALL over the limit. Might as well arrest the bar owner, bartender and waitress too. They were aiding and abetting. And you wonder why the jails are bursting at their seams? This is getting out of control....

Wallace had an unloaded gun, which was legally registered to his wife in Virgina, in a backpack in the backseat of the car. An original additional charge of carrying a concealed weapon, a 5-year felony, was brought by prosecutors. Puh-leeze. First, he stated he forgot he even had it in the backpack and evidently the cops believed him. Second, if his life was threatened and he remembered the gun, what would he have to have done? Crawl in the back seat, open up the backpack, retrieve it, open up the console where the bullets supposedly were, fish around for them, load the gun, and then he could have possibly defended himself. By then, his assailant would have had his/her way and been long gone, or died laughing.

Legally, it doesn't matter that Ben Wallace brought a lot of joy to Detroit Pistons fans. He's just a man and should be treated like everyone else. Yet consider what happened. By most accounts, he's been a model citizen. Hardworking, humble, and just quietly going about his business. Someone for kids to look up to -- no pun intended. He certainly never had a criminal record before -- but he does now.

He's up for 93 days in the county slammer when he gets sentenced next month. Even if he avoids jail, there will likely be a hefty fine, because he can afford it. Conversely, if it was a homeless person living in a dumpster, he/she just might prefer doing the "time" -- especially with the winter months coming up. Depending on one's station in life, 3 hots, a cot, and a shower might look pretty good. Who knows?

Wallace will also likely have to pay "court costs". Silly me, I always thought our tax dollars paid their salaries and expenses. (Can you spell "double-dipping"? Hmmm. Maybe we should ask Darnell.....)

Hopefully Big Ben will come out of all this just fine and continue to be who he's always been.

He was in the wrong place at the wrong time, under the wrong circumstances, and he has to pay the price.

Justice is supposed to be equal for all -- right?

Wrong.

Ben in Oakland County.

Lindsay Lohan in LA.

I rest my case.