What's Up With That? Volume Two
In this issue, and in following issues, rather than explore two stories in-depth, I will from this point on explore only one story fully, and then quickly highlight some other stories I believe merit your attention and provide links to them.
There just seem to be far too many shocking, controversial, or exciting stories in the world of sports for me to allow 95 percent of them to go by without at least mentioning them.
So, without further adieu, let’s get on with this weeks feature story.
Cleveland Browns WR Stallworth Kills Man with Bentley—No Charges Yet
Donté Lamar Stallworth, a star wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns, struck and killed a man just after 7 a.m. Saturday morning. The man, Mario Reyes, was said to be heading to a bus stop when he was struck by Stallworth’s Bentley.
Police are still not certain whether the 59-year-old Reyes, a family man who had come to South Florida as a teenager from Cuba, was crossing the causeway linking Miami and Miami Beach legally or not.
Furthermore, although a breathalyzer was used on Stallworth, and blood was drawn to test for drugs or alcohol, which is routine, the results from those tests will not be made available as of yet.
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Authorities said it could take anywhere from three days to three weeks to obtain those results and thus have not charged Stallworth.
It is reported that Reyes had worked through the night at his job operating a crane in Miami for the shipping company, Bernuth Agencies, and was just leaving work to head home when the fatal accident occurred.
Co-worker Renier Calana, who worked with Reyes unloading cargo containers from the Port of Miami, told the Miami Herald, “When the time came for him to leave, he grabbed his stuff and headed to the bus stop out front.”
“We could hear the impact,” she added. “We all ran out, and he was lying there unconscious in the middle [of the street].”
Reyes’ family was notified by the police shortly after the accident, and when they arrived at the hospital, Reyes was already dead. As Reyes’ brother-in-law, Francisco Fajardo put it, “When we got there, it was too late. He was gone.”
Reyes, who leaves behind his wife, Catalina, to whom he had been married for 20 years, as well as the couple’s 15-year-old daughter, Daniela, was one of the many Cuban immigrants living in South Florida. They lived with his brother-in-law, Fajardo, sharing a southwest Miami home he owned with him and his family.
It’s reported that Reyes was an avid baseball fan who especially liked the local Florida Marlins. He is also said to have been a fan of the Cuba national team, representing his native country in the ongoing World Baseball Classic tournament.
None of this likely matters, though, to his family, who could not be in more shock at the untimely death of their loved one. When questioned, Fajardo explained the family’s silence about the matter, “Our family is in shock.” He said. “They don’t really want to talk.”
Stallworth also has not released a statement, preferring instead to remain quiet until the investigation by the local police is complete.
Police would not release any information as to where Stallworth was coming from or where he was heading that morning, and all attempts to contact Donté’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, have been met with nothing but a voicemail message answering machine.
My concern regarding this story is this: Stallworth is an obvious commodity in football. He recently signed a seven-year, $35 million contract with the Cleveland Browns as a free agent. Although he didn’t play much last year because of injury, the Browns organization had high hopes for him this season.
Cleveland fans, as well, had put their hopes partly in this man, hoping he could be a part of a rejuvenated offense for their club this upcoming season that might propel the Browns back into the playoffs.
So, what is to become of Stallworth? Was he inebriated while driving that morning? Has he committed a crime here, or was this simply an unfortunate accident? These are questions all Cleveland fans will be hanging on the answers for.
More importantly—in fact, far more importantly—the family and friends of Reyes will also be hanging on the answers to these questions. Was their husband, father, brother-in-law, and friend simply taken from them in a random, accidental act of God, or was he snatched from their grasp by another drunken or intoxicated celebrity athlete?
These are questions I believe should be answered as quickly as possible. So, I’m wondering why the Miami Police Department is telling us it might take three weeks to find the answers. Are they kidding? Anyone with a brain knows you get breathalyzer results immediately.
Anyone with just a little knowledge knows blood-alcohol level results can be determined in a matter of an hour or so.
So, considering the results of those tests could clear or condemn the man, and since so much is clearly weighing on those answers, I feel it’s imperative that those answers be given ASAP.
My question then to the Miami police:
What’s Up With That?
Other stories I think you should know about.
What's REALLY Up With All That?
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