The truth on Baugher assault

[BadMoFo]

Don't know if this has been posted elsewhere.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3005328

Baugher pleads not guilty day after release by Pats
ESPN.com news services

Updated: September 5, 2007, 11:22 AM ET

The day after being cut by the New England Patriots, punter Danny Baugher is alleged to have turned his anger and frustration on his 54-year-old father.

Baugher, released by the team on Aug. 29, has been charged with assaulting his father, Erle, in a fast-food parking lot at 4 a.m. on Aug. 30, police said.

Police said Danny Baugher, 23, was drunk at the time and told them that he "was released by the New England Patriots [Aug. 29] and he was not handling it very well," according to a police report obtained by the Boston Herald.

Baugher pleaded not guilty to assault and battery last Thursday in Hingham (Mass.) District Court. He was released on his own recognizance with the condition he refrain from domestic abuse, according to the Herald.

The Patriots signed Baugher to their practice squad last season after his release by the Cincinnati Bengals. He did not appear on New England's 2006 roster but was hoping to win the full-time job for 2007 when the team released veteran Josh Miller.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick signed 30-year-old veteran Chris Hanson for the job out of training camp. Hanson, who was released by the New Orleans Saints earlier that week, has 428 punts for 18,347 yards with the Green Bay Packers and the Jacksonville Jaguars. He has averaged 42.9 yards per punt.

"Coach Belichick always says he has to make a lot of decisions on a daily basis and he always tries to make the decision that's best for the football team," Patriots spokesman Stacey James said, according to the Herald. "I don't get the sense that [Baugher's release] was anything non-football-related."

According to the police report, a spat between father and son inside a vehicle escalated to the point where Danny Baugher punched Erle in the face. Erle Baugher declined medical treatment.

Officer Timothy Kane, responding to a 911 report of two men fighting, said Danny Baugher had "bloodshot glassy eyes, slurred and thick-tongued speech, as well as the strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his breath."

He described Baugher as "very evasive with his answers" and, when ordered out of the car, unable to keep his balance "due to high level of intoxication."

 

[Seymour93]

And the thing is Baugher probably would've had another chance to earn a roster spot. He was likely going to be put on the PS. But since he handled being cut so bad, that ends his chances with the Pats.

 

[BelichickFan]

And the thing is Baugher probably would've had another chance to earn a roster spot. He was likely going to be put on the PS. But since he handled being cut so bad, that ends his chances with the Pats.

Yeah the whole thing is very sad.

 

[TeamPats]

Not to condone violence, but it does sound relatively harmless. He was drunk after being cut and hit his father in the face, an act I have never truthfully done, however wouldn't necessarily rule it out. And have seen my brother and pops spare often enough in the past. It seems a little harsh to be put on the front page of espn.com. Especially when his father did not press any charges, nor did he call the cops, nor did he get evaluated for any significant injuries. I actually feel sort of bad for Danny and hope in his young career this does not keep him from being able to sign with another team or the way the Patriots go through punters, this team by week 5.

 

[alamo]

Was just about to post this. The original source for this article is the Herald.

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/football/patriots/view.bg?articleid=1029412

The allegations that Baugher was cut because of the fight, which are now proved wrong, came from a post at Patriots Planet. The original poster has since erased that post.

"Pats cut Baugher because he was arrested" was jumped on by many people as if it was obvious, without examining the original report's credibility or details.
This is a good lesson that the fact that something makes sense does *not* mean it's true. Easy answers aren't always correct.

 

[Mike the Brit]

A piece of Pats trivia that I now have no further use for is that Erle Baugher is the godson of the late Bucko Kilroy. Furthermore, Danny is also called "Erle", although he does not use that name.

Poor Danny!

 

[patsox23]

My positive spin for Danny Baugher: "Football is important to him."

 

[Tunescribe]

My positive spin for Danny Baugher: "Football is important to him."

Sure seems like it. I feel sorry for the guy. He looked to have things locked up for a while; I remember that 70-plus yard kick he had in the preseason.

 

[fgssand]

A piece of Pats trivia that I now have no further use for is that Erle Baugher is the godson of the late Bucko Kilroy. Furthermore, Danny is also called "Erle", although he does not use that name.

Poor Danny!

Poor Danny....I feel bad for his Pops.....the day one of my sons lifts his fists to me or their mother is the day they get cut off totally - and they lose their season tix too (that'l insure my safety right there).

I cannot imagine that kind of disrespect from a son to a father ( I imagine there are fathers that deserve to be whacked by their sons, but this does not appear to be the case at all here).

STUPID Danny is more like it, he drank and punched away his career (at keast with NE).

 

[Dragda]

Poor Danny....I feel bad for his Pops.....the day one of my sons lifts his fists to me or their mother is the day they get cut off totally - and they lose their season tix too (that'l insure my safety right there).

I cannot imagine that kind of disrespect from a son to a father ( I imagine there are fathers that deserve to be whacked by their sons, but this does not appear to be the case at all here).

STUPID Danny is more like it, he drank and punched away his career (at keast with NE).

You have season tickets? Adopt me. I'll never get drunk and hit you in the face. See? It's a total Win-Win

 

[spacecrime]

I cannot imagine that kind of disrespect from a son to a father ( I imagine there are fathers that deserve to be whacked by their sons, but this does not appear to be the case at all here).

STUPID Danny is more like it, he drank and punched away his career (at keast with NE).

Have to agree. Something is seriously wrong when a son punches his father.

To assault your father because, as he stated, he wasn't handling being cut well, boggles my mind.

The happy part of the story is the Pats have avoided potential future community problems/issues by not having this moron on their team.

 

[unoriginal]

Have to agree. Something is seriously wrong when a son punches his father.

To assault your father because, as he stated, he wasn't handling being cut well, boggles my mind.

The happy part of the story is the Pats have avoided potential future community problems/issues by not having this moron on their team.

Eh, that's not so bad. I know my dad kicked the crap out of me a number of times when I was little. I could see myself returning the favor if one day (a) I got fired, (b) I was drunk and (c) he was inexplicably there at the bar, riding my ass.

IMHO its much worse getting into a fight with your spouse.

 

[PromisedLand]

And the thing is Baugher probably would've had another chance to earn a roster spot. He was likely going to be put on the PS. But since he handled being cut so bad, that ends his chances with the Pats.

It doesn't do much for his chances with any other NFL team either, especially in this age of increased scrutiny on player character.

 

[Mike the Brit]

Credit the Boston Herald for one of the best headlines ever:

Punted pat in dad spat.

Brilliant!

 

[fgssand]

You have season tickets? Adopt me. I'll never get drunk and hit you in the face. See? It's a total Win-Win

Not so fast....my sons have agreed to change my diaper when old age hits, wheel me into the stadium, prop me up so I can watch.

Caretake for me which involves:

A) bringing groceries and cleaning me and my "shack" on a lake twice a week.

B) They also must make certain fresh batteries are in my clickers and my DirectTV Sunday Ticket bills are paid on time.

OK so, we have taken care of personal hygiene, food & football - what else is there??

 

[MetalBleachers]

Strange, because Baugher seemed to have all the right answers before Miller was cut: http://www.projo.com/patriots/content/sp_fbn_patsjo16_08-16-07_KB6OQ86.30b5cd9.html

Then afterward, he seemed to display an understanding of the big picture, that even as the lone punter his days could be numbered. Guess not. What's really sad is that an NFL-level punter is never really out of business until he can't punt anymore, and Baugher looked to be improving. Hope he can get his act together.

 

[ClevTrev]

Not to condone violence, but it does sound relatively harmless. He was drunk after being cut and hit his father in the face, an act I have never truthfully done, however wouldn't necessarily rule it out.

You are joking, right???

 

[Terry Glenn is a cowgirl]

Eh, that's not so bad. I know my dad kicked the crap out of me a number of times when I was little. I could see myself returning the favor if one day (a) I got fired, (b) I was drunk and (c) he was inexplicably there at the bar, riding my ass.

IMHO its much worse getting into a fight with your spouse.

There ARE father's out there that do this... my father was/is extremely tough on me (physically and mentally demanding/demeaning) and my brother. Tough love as they say.

Haven't you watched some of those sports movies????

I have empathy for Danny... he should have got another chance, but... he didn't.

Hopefully things will pan out somewhere for him.

 

[Seven Nation Army]

I can see Baugher's perspective in this. He got fired, so he went and drank and then beat up his father. That's understandable, right? I mean, when the Patriots released me I took it out on my dad and my mom.

 

[Terry Glenn is a cowgirl]

I can see Baugher's perspective in this. He got fired, so he went and drank and then beat up his father. That's understandable, right? I mean, when the Patriots released me I took it out on my dad and my mom.

The REAL question is:

Are we being told the whole story????

There could be alot taken out of context... such as:

Maybe his dad verbally abused him to the point of melting down. VERY possible when the booze starts to flow...

Maybe his dad hit him first. The booze does different things to even rational people.

Maybe alot of other things added up.

You don't really know the whole story.

Either do I though...