Darren Myles Pleads Guilty, Gets Host Of Probationful Parting Gifts

Darren Myles, erstwhile can’t-miss prospect and a would-be jewel of Derek Dooley’s young first Tennessee team, was the most high-profile casualty of the Vawl Brawl, ejected from the team almost immediately following the now-infamous barfight that hospitalized an off-duty police officer. He’s now presumably on his way out of town as well, and managed to get all his summer court-going out of the way at once:

Myles, 19, pleaded guilty to resisting and evading arrest for the incident at Bar Knoxville when an off-duty Knoxville policeman, a UT police officer and a patron were assaulted.
A disorderly conduct charge and a charge for assaulting the UT police officer who was chasing Myles were dismissed.
He also pleaded guilty to public intoxication and resisting arrest for an incident on April 18 when he was arrested and charged with two misdemeanors at Sobu on Kingston Pike.
Probation, diversion, community service, and alcohol classes were handed down, and with that, we bid Myles a less-than-fond adieu. It’s a true shame, though. After the April arrest, provoked by Myles’ drunken car-surfing in the parking lot of a sushi restaurant, I kind of wanted to see this kid play. That’s a recreational activity that requires some serious fleetness of foot.

With the reinstatement of Greg King and Marlon Walls, it appears Myles may be the only lasting casualty of the still-murky sidewalk melee. Rocky Top Talk takes a hard look, wondering how Tennessee fans should feel about all this whimpering and marked lack of bangs:

No one was ever charged with assault on Gary Russell inside the bar, or off-duty police officer Robert Capoullez outside the bar. And on Tuesday, Dooley reinstated King and Walls from their suspensions...meaning the only on-field casualty from the incident is Myles, whose dismissal seems to have had more to do with the fact that his flee from the scene led to his second arrest of the offseason.
The picture we got on July 9 and the consequences on August 4 do not line up. What do we do with that? Do we shrug our shoulders and be thankful, quietly, that we’ve got one of our projected starters at defensive tackle back? Do we tear our clothes and cry out for the justice that apparently isn’t coming?
The beleagured Vols open the 2010 season Sept. 4 against Tennessee-Martin.