SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - Suspended Notre Dame wide receiver Michael Floyd pleaded guilty Wednesday to misdemeanor drunken driving and was sentenced to a year of probation. Whether he plays next season remains unclear.
St. Joseph County Magistrate Brian Steinke gave Floyd a one-year jail sentence that was suspended as part of a plea agreement. He also said Floyd cannot drive for 90 days and once when he does, he must have an ignition device installed on his vehicle for six months that won't allow it to start if his blood-alcohol level is too high.
The 21-year-old Floyd was fined $200 and ordered to attend a victim impact panel to hear from people whose family members were killed in drunken driving accidents.
Floyd, who has had two previous incidents involving alcohol, left court quickly after the hearing and declined to comment. He only spoke briefly during the hearing, answering yes to several questions from the judge. He had not been in court for two previous hearings.
Floyd was arrested at 3:18 a.m. March 20 after running a stop sign a block from the school's main entrance. Prosecutors say a breath test showed Floyd had a blood-alcohol level of 0.19 percent, more than double Indiana's legal limit for driving.
Floyd's attorney, William Stanley, told reporters after the hearing that his client accepted full responsibility from the start.
"Never once did he ever try to give an excuse as to his actions or ever try to mitigate the seriousness of the offense," he said.
Coach Brian Kelly suspended Floyd, Notre Dame's leading receiver last season, after his arrest. Earlier this month, the coach said Floyd would be allowed to participate in voluntary workouts with the team this summer and strength and conditioning exercises supervised by staff.
Kelly said Floyd still had steps he must take to be reinstated to the team, but didn't specify what those steps were. Brian Hardin, Notre Dame's director of football media relations, said Kelly would have no comment on Floyd's plea agreement and Stanley said he doesn't know Floyd's status with the team.
"That's coach Kelly's decision," he said.
Stanley said Floyd went through alcohol counseling at Notre Dame.
Floyd was cited for underage consumption of alcohol on May 15, 2009, in his home state of Minnesota, and pleaded guilty through a hearing officer a month later.
Floyd was also cited for underage drinking in Minneapolis on Jan. 8, 2010. Floyd and Minnesota running back Shady Salamon, who were former Cretin-Derham Hall prep teammates in St. Paul, Minn., were cited after police were called to a fight involving six to 10 people.
Stanley said Floyd performed more than 32 hours of community service in Minnesota when he went home at the end of the school year even though he wasn't required to, saying he has also talked to students about the importance of academics.
"I think he did it for his own well-being," Stanley said. "I think he understood he had to give a little to get something back."
Floyd holds the school record for touchdown catches (28) and ranks second in school history in catches (171) and third in receiving yards (2,539).
Floyd had faced a maximum sentence of a year in jail. A charge of running a stop sign was dismissed.
---
Follow Tom Coyne on Twitter: www.twitter.com/TomCoyneAP
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Sign in to comment