Yagudin charged with DUI

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.

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.

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

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

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.

PrincessLeppard said:

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

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Now THAT'S scary!:\

I totally agree with you Katherine.

the fact is: he had no accident, he didnt hurt or killed somebody -
yes: he was drunken and will get a punishment and I hope he will get a hard judgement so that he will learn from this and never do it again.

drinking problem: I think somebody has a drinking problem if either he drinks periodically or in secret. I dont´t know if Alexei did this and I think the most of you don´t know this too.
So don´t describe him as an alcoholic or as an potential killer.

Alina

Lisa said:

Hey everybody - hang on a minute!!!

I totally agree with all those who say that Yags was being very stupid and what he did was irresponsible!

But still - being caught while driving after you've had some alcohol does NOT mean that you've got a drinking problem. Don't get me wrong, please, I don't mean to excuse what he did. But this doesn't make him an alcoholic, so please let's not treat him like an one.
And please, COI was back in 1999, he was still quite new in the US, and the Russian drinking tradition is very different from the American one. If he really had a serious problem, there would have been more scandals ever since (and you can be sure the media would have been delighted to tell us), and an alcoholic is not able to skate that well over such a long time.

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Here Here Lisa. I too agree that Drinking & Driving is a Very BAB IDEA. However, You can be arrested without being drunk. The Level is so low, it is almost a Zero Tolerence. Someone can have 2 beers or glasses of wine within an Hour & Still be cosidered drunk. Which, I serously doubt that he was. Getting pulled over for DUI doesn't mean that you are an Alcoholic. He was pulled over not for being all over the road, swerving(sp) all over the place or acting drunk. He was stopped for speeding ( Which alexei does all the time: Bad Boy) & for chaning lanes without using his directional. I do to same when I am the only one on the road. It is no excuse for him to drive while drinking though. You never know what can happen.

But, this has nothing to do with 1999. That was so long ago. Plus, the fact that he was not driving while he was on tour back then. He just got caught drinking while under age. It was no where near what Oksana did. Remember, Alexei has been successful for a while now, he did not cash in & let the fame go to his head. But, I think that it was a good thing that he got pulled over. This will be a lesson learned for him. Either go with other people who will not drink & let them do the driving or take public transportation.

Since I only have the internet at work, I didn't know about this until Sunday evening when a friend from Canada called me when she saw this on the board. I am not going say anything more on the subject than has already been said. The only thing I will comment on is that no one probably feels worse about this than Alexei. As a fan, he still has my support.

Dee

I certainly dont want to see Yags wind up in prison. I don't think he will. He has money to get a super lawyer for this case.

However, I can not look the other way about what he did. Speeding under the influence is so dangerous. If you've ever seen a traffic accident, you know the terror and hearbreak it brings to the victims. I think Yags was lucky that he was stopped before something like that happened.

More than a short prison term; more than a hefty fine, let us hope Yags got the message and takes control of his life off the ice. It is important to him and to his devoted fans.

Joe

Dee4707

I too did not see this until Monday Morning. I was away all weekend.

He too will always have my support. No one feels worse about this than him right now. I think the lesson has been learned.


Always will be a fan of His.

Well, this certainly is sad!

I've read every post on here. Some people think Yags has a drinking problem. Some think he just "got caught". Some think other things.

After spending 9 years in AA meetings (long story) and watching people with DUIs have to sit through 3-6 months of meetings, it gets really sad when you see the same people come in again, months later, after they are done the first time.

I have no clue if Yags has a problem with drinking or not. But I do know, FOR AN ABSOLUTE FACT, that there are different types of alcoholics. There are functioning alcoholics who can do quite well even though they drink. There are the bar alcoholics who you find every night and sometimes every morning, in a bar. There are the skid row drunks. There are the secret drinkers. The only person who knows if they are an alcoholic are the ones who are drinking. And nothing you can say or do will MAKE them believe they have a problem until they reach what is considered "rock bottom". Some have a "high bottom", some never reach the bottom. My mother is one who never reached the bottom. She died from alcoholism.

I'm not going to point my finger at Yags and say you need help bucko. But I am going to point my finger at the judge and say, Let him off with a light sentence and you are sending a message. But then again, thousands of messages are sent every day when DUIs get light sentences.

This isn't a game. It's a very real situation that needs to be focused on. It isn't always the repeat offenders who get into accidents. It isn't always the repeat offenders who kill or get killed in alcohol related accidents.

I hope Yags looks seriously at himself and what he is doing. I hope he doesn't just shrug this off. Before I pass judgment on him, I'll wait and hear what he has to say.

There is, on another message board, a description of the area where he was stopped. I think it's on the USFSA board. If I find it, I'll post a link to it. It might surprise you to know that it wasn't like he was speeding down a country road.

Link

Ok, it was at FSU. Sorry! Here is the link that describes the area, the intersection etc., where he was arrested for DUI


http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/showthread.php?threadid=6624&perpage=15&pagenumber=8

I'm thinking it's on page 8 by poohsk8r or something like that. I am only referring to the first paragraph and not this poster's personal opinion of Yags in the 2nd paragraph.



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alina said:

I totally agree with you Katherine.

the fact is: he had no accident, he didnt hurt or killed somebody -
yes: he was drunken and will get a punishment and I hope he will get a hard judgement so that he will learn from this and never do it again.

drinking problem: I think somebody has a drinking problem if either he drinks periodically or in secret. I dont´t know if Alexei did this and I think the most of you don´t know this too.
So don´t describe him as an alcoholic or as an potential killer.

Alina

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I will just say that aside from the alcoholic part, which no one can judge without more facts, the reason there are laws limiting the amount of alcohol in one's blood in the U.S. is to prevent "potential accidents and vehicular manslaughter". So, I don't get your spin that people are judging him and describing him as a potential killer. His actions had the potential to kill him or someone else. That's why they have consequences for DUI to avoid the potential dangers. Again, I see the majority of people saying that his actions were dangerous NOT that he is somehow a horrible person. Whatever we learn further about this, it is a serious situation. He was very fortunate that there was no accident and no injuries. DUI is not something you downgrade as long as no one was hurt. This is true for all DUIs, firsttimers and repeats, whether they are caught or not. It's unfortunate that there are people who don't get caught and continue to do it. I just hope that with the consequences and support of his family, friends, and fans he will learn from it and we can all move on and watch him skate again.

maybe yags doesn't know his limits. he needs to acknowledge the problem and get the help he needs for his sake.

Here we go again! Anything to say how you lost respect for him. He is only human.

After a few hours to put some things into perspective I guess I've to post again. In my first post I might've came across like a "non loyal" fan, like someone who let his "idol" down right away when something went wrong. This is not the case. Just because I like him I was so unbelievable furious about what happend.

It almost took him 4 years, much personality, a whole lot of amazing skating, many impressive successes and some positive PR as well to make those stupid COI-accidents in 1999 disappear. During this time he gained a whole new world of fans, but also acknowledgement and at least respect by almost everyone.

But now, after this new, "thoughtless" (?) incident, many of these efforts seem in vain, even though he still has a solid fan base he can count on. But then ... probably we'll never find out if there's a connection between now and then or not, if it's justified to compare those accidents or not, if he's an real "alcoholic" or not, it doesn't even matter, because it's a fact and was quite clear right from the beginning that a certain kind of media and some people'd drag those old COI stories out of the closet again and scribble "boozer" on his forehead. And again it will take him pretty much time and efforts to get away from that image, if at all.

We still have to wait for the results how serious the incident actually was (alcohol level, speed), we haven't heard his point of view yet, but a damage is already done. Alexei has all reasons in the world to bang his head against the wall. Yes, he's only human, but he should've known better. That's what made me so sad and mad about him.

But still, to me he's one of the greatest skater of all times, actually the one I "love" most, and he has my support.

Anke

If Alexei is sentenced to so many hour of community service, which I think likely, I wonder if he can fulfill this obligation by giving skating exhibitions in local clubs and talking to children about the obligations of good citizenship, or something like that?

MM