The Sports Informant

By Patrick Ibarra
Editor

When the California Highway Patrol stopped a 2010 black Mercedes S550 for going more than 100 miles per hour on Interstate 80, officers approached the car cautiously and with their weapons drawn, according to the Associated Press, unable to see through the dark tint of the windows.

When they instructed the people inside the car to get out slowly, they weren’t expecting to see the NBA’s Rookie of the Year come from behind the wheel.

Sacramento Kings guard Tyreke Evans was stopped and cited for reckless driving in the Mercedes on Monday, putting lives in danger for an adrenaline rush on the freeway.

Boys and their toys, right?

Tyreke Evans was cited for reckless driving. (Photo courtesy Dave Heylen)

It’s not hard to believe the situation occurred, as we’ve all gotten behind the wheel of a cherry vehicle excitedly at one point in our lives and wanted to race away to freedom. Most of us, the smart ones, don’t ever do it though. Too often professional athletes do.

While Evans is paid to drive as fast as possible down the lane of a basketball court, he — like any other civilian — is expected to obey the speed limit, and any other California law. Evans ignored the law for the sake of another thrill, and risked lives in the process.

It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement — I can understand that. If I had the disposable income Evans has, risks become easier to take. But it wasn’t just the risk of getting caught and having to pay a ticket (and whatever subsequent punishment comes from having a reckless driving incident on your driving record) that makes the situation noteworthy. It’s the disregard for his surrounding situation that’s most significant. The risks can’t be worth the reward in that situation. They just can’t.

I hit a deer recently, totaling my car. I was going 60 miles per hour at the time on a country road, and slammed on my brakes quickly enough to only injure the animal. While Bambi lovers may scream murder, I figured it a blessing I wasn’t hurt. At 100 miles per hour, there’s no telling what could have happened.

And that’s what makes Evans’ actions so severe. This isn’t a four paragraph story to help fill the morning newspaper on a Monday. This is a personality trait too many athletes have embraced. They feel above the law, whether in a nightclub with an entourage or on the freeway with a buddy, and grave consequences are at stake, both for these athletes and the innocent bystanders surrounding them.

When those consequences affect people close to home, it changes your perspective. What if you were driving down Interstate 80 that day, as you have so many other days before, and things turned out a bit different?

What if your child was in the backseat, sleeping soundly as you made your way back home? Would it be boys with their toys then?