Don’t Offer Darron Thomas A Ride – OpEd

Darron Thomas

By Albany Tribune -- (August 20, 2011)

Was he asleep or wasn’t he?

And if he was asleep, was it the effects of a few “puffs”??

Doubts and rumors swirl over Oregon Ducks quarterback Darron Thomas’s head – if nothing more than his story about being asleep when something, or somebody else was driving, appears all too familiar.

In his latest brush with the law, Thomas cliams he was asleep in the car when teammate, cornerback Cliff Harris, was pulled over for driving 118 mph on June 12 on Interstate 5 near Albany, Oregon.

Harris was cited for speeding and driving on a suspended license.

But it wasn’t until this week that a police dashboard camera video was released and it shows the officer saying he thought he smelled the marijuana coming from the car.

Besides being a sound sleeper, Thomas also denies he was smoking marijuana.

Speaking to reporters about the new video, Thomas said he woke up when the police officer was already at the window “talking about it.”

This summer’s incident is eerily reminiscent of last summer.

In the summer of 2010, Thomas was a passenger when then-quarterback Jeremiah Masoli was stopped for a traffic infraction – and marijuana was found in the car.

And then there was an incident in 2008 – when linebacker Eddie Pleasant crashed while street racing in Springfield.

Thomas was also a passenger in Pleasant’s vehicle.

At this stage, team-mates of Thomas might consider not offering him a ride.