Steve McNair Killed

[mul21]

Several media outlets are reporting that at the time of his death, McNair's blood alcohol was "twice the legal limit". Why are they phrasing it this way? That implies he was doing something illegal by being passed out on a chair. Is it illegal to have a blood/alcohol ratio that high no matter what you are doing?

 

I meant to make almost this exact post earlier. The way the media is covering this is irritating me. I think all the story that is there has been covered, unless they find a note or something at this point.

 

I had the exact same thought. Really? Who cares what his BAC was if he was passed out on a couch. Did that cause him to get killed? Pretty sure it didn't.

 

Also, that may be the first time I've ever read anything by Whitlock and didn't think "Oh my god you gigantic racist piece of crap". It actually made a lot of sense.

[Soul]

I see nothing at all wrong with being drunk, passed out in your own chair.

 

I agree, this story is basically over. Let the man rest in peace.

[jersey cubs fan]

I don't have a problem with them reporting he had a b/a of .16. What I don't like is that they are stating it was "twice the legal limit". As far as I know that's the legal limit for DUI. Is that the same standard for public intoxication or whatever that charge is? What if he was texting while being shot? Being twice the legal limit to operate a vehicle has nothing to do with sitting on your couch.

[Soul]

That's true? Twice the legal limit for what? Sitting in your chair? I'm pretty sure the legal limit for that is whatever you can take before passing out.

[jersey cubs fan]

Apparently I could be a Fox News anchor.

 

http://deadspin.com/5319700/foxs-shepard-smith-explains-mcnair-case-dying-is-not-illegal

[Derwood]

It's because it's not enough that a famous man got murdered. They have to find every angle, and a big angle is "rick black man cheats on wife with at least one (maybe more) women, oh and he was also DRUNK."

 

Basically, they want to say "he deserved it" but can't, so they intimate it with every "shocking new development"

[Guest]

Twice the legal limit. Yikes!

 

How fast was his couch going when the cops pulled him over? Was he crossing the centerline? Did his couch have a tail light out? What were the grounds for pulling him over in the first place? And why mess with a guy driving his couch? How many times has a guy sleeping on his couch caused a drunk driving death? If it's a lot, I take back everything I just said. If not, give him a warning and send him on his way.

[Banedon]

I don't have a problem with them reporting he had a b/a of .16. What I don't like is that they are stating it was "twice the legal limit". As far as I know that's the legal limit for DUI. Is that the same standard for public intoxication or whatever that charge is? What if he was texting while being shot? Being twice the legal limit to operate a vehicle has nothing to do with sitting on your couch.

 

I have a problem with them reporting the b/a level. What's the relevance? Where does legitimate journalism end and gossip-mongering begin? If his b/a level is a factor in the incident, fine. But otherwise, it's just tabloid garbage.

[Pushfrog98]

Twice the legal limit. Yikes!

 

How fast was his couch going when the cops pulled him over? Was he crossing the centerline? Did his couch have a tail light out? What were the grounds for pulling him over in the first place? And why mess with a guy driving his couch? How many times has a guy sleeping on his couch caused a drunk driving death? If it's a lot, I take back everything I just said. If not, give him a warning and send him on his way.

Silly, it's because he's not white.

[Soul]

Apparently I could be a Fox News anchor.

 

http://deadspin.com/5319700/foxs-shepard-smith-explains-mcnair-case-dying-is-not-illegal

 

You & Shep. I always figured you were buds.

[jersey cubs fan]

I don't have a problem with them reporting he had a b/a of .16. What I don't like is that they are stating it was "twice the legal limit". As far as I know that's the legal limit for DUI. Is that the same standard for public intoxication or whatever that charge is? What if he was texting while being shot? Being twice the legal limit to operate a vehicle has nothing to do with sitting on your couch.

 

I have a problem with them reporting the b/a level. What's the relevance? Where does legitimate journalism end and gossip-mongering begin? If his b/a level is a factor in the incident, fine. But otherwise, it's just tabloid garbage.

 

Facts are facts though. The fact that he was drunk and passed out on the couch could tell investigators something about what happened before she shot him. When celebrities die these facts come out. If you die choking yourself to death while jerking off, and you have meth in your system, it's going to come out. Whether we need to know that is beside the point. This would come out in a normal case, but it wouldn't be spread all over the media if you were a nobody.

 

But being drunk is just being drunk. What doesn't make sense is calling it twice the legal limit. I don't think it's a matter of them trying to say he deserved it, as much as it's just irresponsible sensationalist journalism. Twice the legal limit sounds more catchy, even though it's an irrelevent phrase.

[Careless]

I don't have a problem with them reporting he had a b/a of .16. What I don't like is that they are stating it was "twice the legal limit". As far as I know that's the legal limit for DUI. Is that the same standard for public intoxication or whatever that charge is? What if he was texting while being shot? Being twice the legal limit to operate a vehicle has nothing to do with sitting on your couch.

Combine sensationalism with innumeracy with a lack of knowledge of any field outside of English... modern journalism is screwed and screwed up

 

edit: because we have so many journalism types here, I guess I should point out that not all of the class is innumerate or ignorant. This is not an article that Kylejrm would have written, and I'm sure there are several others here whose names escape me at the moment who could be included.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I don't have a problem with them reporting he had a b/a of .16. What I don't like is that they are stating it was "twice the legal limit". As far as I know that's the legal limit for DUI. Is that the same standard for public intoxication or whatever that charge is? What if he was texting while being shot? Being twice the legal limit to operate a vehicle has nothing to do with sitting on your couch.

Combine sensationalism with innumeracy with a lack of knowledge of any field outside of English... modern journalism is screwed and screwed up

 

edit: because we have so many journalism types here, I guess I should point out that not all of the class is innumerate or ignorant. This is not an article that Kylejrm would have written, and I'm sure there are several others here whose names escape me at the moment who could be included.

 

I'm probably one of the worst; I just talk about myself a lot.

 

Anyways, there was a lot of discussion about this on some sports journalism sites. The consensus, with which I agree, is that the reference to the "legal limit" was way out of line.