Michael Floyd sentenced to 1 day in jail for testing positive for alcohol

Vikings wide receiver Michael Floyd was due in court Monday for violating the terms of his house arrest. Floyd was sentenced to one additional day in jail, and he will have to serve the five remaining days of his house arrest, according to ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss.

After being arrested for DUI last December in Scottsdale, Ariz., Floyd served 24 days in jail and was sentenced to 96 days of house arrest. As a condition of that sentence, he was ordered to avoid alcohol for that entire period.

Floyd was 91 days into his 96-day house arrest sentence when the failed tests occurred. He blamed the results on kombucha, a fermented tea.

The Vikings released a statement on Floyd’s sentencing:

When we signed Michael Floyd, we hoped he would show signs of improvement and we continue to expect that he shows progress and a professional attitude. We believe Michael will be a productive member of the Vikings organization, both on and off the field. Pursuant to the ruling of the Arizona Court earlier today, Michael will serve the remainder of his sentence and we expect him to be with the team at the start of training camp in Mankato when the players report on July 26.

A series of five different alcohol tests in June returned blood alcohol content readings between .044 and .055 percent. For comparison, the legal limit in Arizona is .08 percent. But for Floyd, any amount of alcohol in his system was going to violate the terms of his house arrest.

While kombucha does contain trace amounts of alcohol, someone would have to drink excessive amounts of it in order to elevate blood alcohol content that much. The Minnesota Vikings’ chief operating officer, Kevin Warren, said the team encouraged Floyd to drink kombucha.

Warren claimed in a letter to Floyd’s attorney and the judge overseeing the case, Statia Hendrix, that Floyd did not know that kombucha contained any alcohol.

“I am writing to request Mr. Floyd not have his court mandated requirements negatively impacted since he did not know the kombucha tea he ingested contained alcohol,” Warren’s letter read.

The prosecutor on the case, Caron Close, didn’t buy it.

“He’s in violation and should serve the rest of his jail time,” Close told Brian Murphy of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

The Arizona Cardinals released Floyd shortly after his arrest, which occurred after he fell asleep behind the wheel of his car. He was charged with obstructing a roadway, failure to obey a police officer, and two counts of DUI.

This was not Floyd’s first arrest for driving under the influence. He was indefinitely suspended by Notre Dame during his college career after being pulled over and arrested at twice the legal limit.

The Patriots signed Floyd on Dec. 16, just one day after the Cardinals released him. He was a part of the team that won Super Bowl LI with a historic comeback, although he was not active for the game. Floyd hit free agency after the season, and was signed by the Vikings.

Floyd had 446 yards and four touchdowns over 13 games with the Cardinals last season. He played in the final two games of the regular season for the Patriots, contributing 42 yards and a touchdown.