Yagudin charged with DUI

[IceCastles1814]

I'm not really surprised to hear this, but I did think he had turned around after the 1999 COI incident. I do agree that DUI is indefensible. Yes, Yagudin might not skate again, competitively, at least. It's sad for someone who loves to do something, but not everyone of those people runs out and drinks and drives. He has had an incredible career, better than most skaters ever will have. He has a lot to be grateful for. I'm not judging him, so much as stating the fact that his actions were irresponsible no matter the reasons behind them. We all make mistakes, yes, but people seem to be confusing judging the action with the person. I don't know him, so I'm not going to say this makes him a horrible person. It was the action that was wrong, period. I do hope he learns from it (saving his life and others as well) and I wish him well with his hip.

Lucy

[NansXOXOX]

Lisa and terisalyn,

Thank you both for saying what I think much better than I could have said it.

Nan

[PrincessLeppard]

Jaana, I tried to answer you earlier in the day, but my computer kept kicking
me off. Hopefully, that is solved.

All states have different laws regarding DUIs. As this is his first offense, he
probably won't get any jail time since no one was injured. He will probably
get a fine, possible suspended driver's license (30 or 60 days) and community
service.

The one glitch here is that he is NOT an American citizen. Here in Nebraska,
an asylum seeker from Nigeria is probably going to be deported after a drunk
driving arrest. However, someone was killed in that accident, so the situation
isn't entirely similar.

Let's not be overly judgmental until we know the facts. Please remember that
the current US president and vice president each have at least ONE DUI in their
respective pasts....

Laura

[Joesitz]

The bottom line is Drinking and Driving is a leading cause of fatalities on the road. Movie Stars, Olympic Champions, Sports Greats are not exempt from the potential crimes of negligence.

If you are maimed for life by a drunken driver, who happens to be a big sports star, would you find ways to say, it's all right? I hope you answer no that question.

Joe

[SkateFan4Life]

This is terrible! Hopefully, Yags won't go the route of other athletes who self-destruct with abusive habits such as alcohol.
This kind of behavior is intolerable. How many people have been killed and/or seriously injured in drunken-driving accidents?

Get a grip on yourself, Alexi! All the best - and take care of yourself.

[kzarah]

It amazes me that an athlete testing positive for Marijuana would be disqualified or banned from his/her sport but they do not test for alcohol.
Daniel and Little Lulu

Little Lulu thinks that athletes should also be tested for catnip.

[CB1AB2]

He is such a great skater and a nice person too. I have met him. I hope the presure of his operation=skating with Stars on Ice and competing is not going to be to much for him to handle.

But there is no excuse for driving drunk. As one other person said he is a role model for young skaters and this is definitely not a good example to be setting.

But, I still do wish him the best of luck in the future.
He is a great skater.

cb

[Flora MacDonald]

If he's guilty he should be ashamed of himself.
Having problems, ie DUI's, under the influence means you have an alcohol problem.
The idea that it is customary for Russians to drink more doesn't mean they aren't alcoholics. Alcohol abuse is a serious social issue in Russia.

On another note, I agree with Little Lulu--test them for catnip too!!

[Ptichka]

[list=1][*]I definitely agree with all those who say that we have no reason to assume he has an alcohol problem. I am not excusing his behavior, but I do not understand how people can jump to the conclusion that he "cannot cope with success" or "cannot cope with his career being over" over this! Once again, I am not making excuses for his actions.[*]Marihuana vs. alcohol. Well, one is legal and the other is not. Had the 18th amendment to the constitution still been in effect, things would have been different.[*]This & COI incident. NO CONNECTION. Other than stupidity, perhaps.[/list=1]

[bleuchick]

but Marijuana does. Alexei! Come on over to Canada. Ahem..Belgium too

[Blade1]

I think Lisa's post was well said. I couldnt' have said it better myself.

However as a fan, I don't loose respect for him at all. I will support his skating and will always stand by him.

You know we really don't know how Yags feels about the sittuation, we also don't know if it was the first time he actually got behind the wheel of his car and drive after drinking. These are just things we assume "possibly" he did. Put that aside, I just
"hope that this was an eye opener for Yagudin.

[katherine2001]

Ptichka, I agree with you. I never drove drunk because I've never been a drinker. However, many, many people his age have driven drunk--they just never got caught, or because they were not famous, the whole world didn't find out about it. Does that mean I condone it? No, I don't. Are we going to hold every young person to the same standard that we hold Alexei and other famous to? Do we have a right to expect mroe of them than we would of anyone else?

I may not have driven drunk, but I did a lot of other stupid things when I was his age. That is part of the growing up process. People of that age group make a lot of mistakes in judgment. Hopefully, they do learn from their mistakes. Hopefully, Alexei has learned from this experience. If (and you notice I say *if) he has a drinking problem, I hope he will now realize it and get help. If he doesn't, I hope he will drink responsibly and not drive.

Yes, he could have killed someone, and I think he probably realizes that. However, how many of us haven't done something that could be potentially harmful to someone else or ourselves? For instance, speeding can be potentially harmful to us or someone else, but I see many, many people doing it. So we might also want to look at ourselves and see if we do things that could potentially harm or kill others as well.

[toutestgrace]

Drinking and driving IS a drinking problem. Only luck and/or Providence prevents a drunk driver from killing or maiming someone.

[Joesitz]

No one is saying anything about him not being an excellent figure skater. They are talking about his drunkeness. He was driving drunk!!! Luckily he was stopped before he did kill someone or himself!!! end of comment

Joe

[heyang]

My inclination is to believe that the charges are valid since he's chosen not to issue a counter statement.

As someone said, he's been in the US for a several years now, obtained a driver's license (which should imply a knowledge of driving laws) and is older than he was during the alleged COI incident (I say alleged here because I'm not aware of anything official.) Also, as a resident of the US, I'm surprised he didn't consider that police are out en force to watch for DUI/DWI during holiday weekends. He definitely used bad judgement.

Assuming that this is his 1st official conviction, he'll probably get a slap on the wrist and community service. I think the penalities for DUI and DWI are amazingly lenient in this country considering the potential severity of the issue.

Is he an alcoholic? I don't have enough knowledge of his behavior to decide. While it's unlikely that he could perform on tour while drinking, the tour's been over for several months now.

There are functional alcoholics out there. Many people imagine alcoholics as someone who drinks constantly. That's the most severe case. An alcoholic is anyone who "needs" a drink. It could just be that one drink in the evening, but if it can't be skipped, the person has a problem. If you can only have fun with a drink, you've got a drinking problem IMO. If you never turn down a drink, you have a problem.

My cousin's boyfriend was a functioning alcoholic. I'm not sure when it started since I really never spent a lot of time with him - when I did, it was usually a social situation. He never seemed to get 'trashed'. Based upon what I've heard, the situation got worse after he lost his job - that's when the binge drinking started. Less than 2 years after he lost his job, he was dead. Too much liver damage. Believe me, I was shocked. He managed to hide it from my cousin until after he moved in with her (while he was unemployed.) So, don't assume that the social drinker isn't an alcholic.

Another former co-worker was concerned that he was drinking too much - so, he put himself to a test where he wouldn't drink for a week, even when we went out for happy hour. He passed his test without a problem.

On the other hand, another former co-worker continued to use the excuse that he was young and partying to permit himself to drink. His-then-girlfriend told me that he had to have a drink every evening for stress relief. I asker her if she thought he had a drinking problem and she said 'no. She got tired of all the times she had to bring him home blind drunk. You never saw him like that at work, but on any social occasion outside of work, he never turned down a drink.

Sorry, don't mean to get preachy. Can't cast stones since I've been drunk, especially when I was just out of college. Fortunately, I had a 1 hour train ride home and always stopped at least an hour before leaving the bar. If I know that I'll need to drive, I set a drink limit and a time limit. Otherwise, I got a ride from the designated driver or had plans to stay over. Like the campaign says - If you're going to drink, do it responsibly.