Raiders wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey took a moment to address his recent DUI arrest on Tuesday.
Heyward-Bey was arrested April 7th on the Bay Bridge and formally charged with drunk driving last week. He’s set to appear in court at the end of the month and his lawyer says that Heyward-Bey will plead not guilty. Heyward-Bey didn’t talk about his legal plans, preferring to direct his comments to Raiders fans.
“I just kind of regret bringing bad attention to the team, for the most part,” Heyward-Bey said, via Jerry McDonald of the Bay Area News Group. “Want to let the fans know that I’m here, working hard, trying to get on the same page with Carson and looking forward to the season.”
Even if you understand Heyward-Bey has to be somewhat circumspect because of the ongoing case, there’s something about words like “kind of” and “for the most part” that take the punch out of an apology. Or “kind of” apology, as the case may be. At any rate, better to say something to acknowledge what happened instead of pretending it isn’t out there.
Of more importance to Raiders fans might be the fact that this is Heyward-Bey’s first legal issue, so there may not be any punishment coming from Roger Goodell as a result. With Heyward-Bey coming off the best season of his career, the Raiders and their fans would surely take any kind of apology if it helps keep him on the field for all 16 games in 2012.