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Jason Kidd is a stellar basketball player. Kidd is a 10-time All Star, an Olympic champion, and NBA superstar. Not only is he a talented athlete, but he is dedicated to bettering the lives and education of youth. He started the Jason Kidd Foundation in 1999 to mentor children, something that he is quoted, on his website, saying that he loves and that brings him true happiness. Earlier this July, he signed with the New York Knicks where he hopes to finish out his career by helping the team mesh, specifically Camelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire, and Tyson Chandler, and assisting the Knicks in bringing home a championship. Before he signed in Houston, mentoring youngster Jeremy Lin was also going to be one of Kidd’s responsibilities. He is a role model, someone to whom kids can really look up to.

Unfortunately for J-Kidd, when people look up to you everyone is also looking at you. In the early morning hours of Sunday, July 15th, cops were called to the scene of an accident in the Hamptons where he was arrested for DWI. At approximately 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, Kidd blew past a stop sign one and a half miles from his Hamptons summer home and hit a telephone pole, knocking it off of its base. He was on his way back from a night club when he got into the wreck and witnesses at the club reported him pounding several drinks throughout the night. He ended up being carried out of the nightclub. The internet is littered with pictures of his partying as well his subsequent mugshot and responding officers say that when they pulled him from his vehicle he reeked of alcohol, was unsteady on his feet, and had blood shot eyes.

Kidd refused a breathalyzer test and refused a blood test when he was taken to the hospital for treatment of his minor injuries. Not only was Kidd charged with DWI but he has also been tried with failure to stop and refusing a breathalyzer at the scene of the crash, charges to which he has plead not guilty. The DWI has the potential to earn Kidd up to a year in jail, and his next court date is rumored to be September 12, 2012. However, I believe that the year in jail is only a small concern for this basketball star. After this, I firmly believe that his credibility is shot. As always, kids and teens try and emulate their heroes. When a big name like Jason Kidd drinks and drives, it makes me wonder how many more people are going to think they have this sense of invincibility? How many more people will think that they’ve only had a little to drink and can make the short drive home? Let’s hope not many.

Jason Kidd views himself as a mentor to young children. Jason Kidd joined the Knicks because he wanted to mentor his young teammates. Jason Kidd risks his lives and the lives of others by partying too had and driving drunk. The irony is not lost on me.

The Chase Down Block Chris Berry Interactive Chris Berry Interactive