Bradley Roby was cited by Columbus police early Sunday morning for operating a vehicle while impaired, according to reports. The former Ohio State cornerback and first-round NFL Draft hopeful was reportedly discovered by police passed out behind the wheel of a parked car. According to 10TV in Columbus, they were unable to get Roby's attention, and when they opened the door officers noted an odor of alcohol. Roby then failed a field sobriety test.
Ohio State CB Bradley Roby cited for operating a vehicle while impaired
Fewer than two weeks before the NFL Draft, police officers cited Bradley Roby for operating a vehicle while impaired. The charge threatens to hurt the cornerback’s NFL Draft stock, though reports indicate that Roby’s case could be dismissed.
Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports
The details from that point on paint Roby in a better light. In a statement released to Ohio State blog Eleven Warriors, Roby’s agent, Michael Perrett, said that his client blew a .008 on a breathalyzer -- one-tenth of Ohio’s legal limit of .08 BAC.
This past weekend my client Bradley Roby was issued a citation in Columbus, Ohio for operating a vehicle while impaired (OVI). Bradley was sitting in his parked car in a parking lot when he was approached and questioned by an officer. He was fully cooperative and willingly submitted to field sobriety and breathalyzer tests. His BAC test registered a negligible .008 and after further testing at the police station, he was very quickly released on his own recognizance. There are no other charges, and we are confident that this matter will be resolved quickly and favorably for Bradley. However, as the matter is still pending, we cannot comment further at this time.
Roby is set to be arraigned Friday at 10 a.m. ET at Franklin County Municipal Court. An OVI carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. However, per Eleven Warriors, first-time offenders typically receive a suspended license, alcohol abuse education and a more lenient $500 fine, assuming they are charged at all. A source within Columbus PD told Eleven Warriors that Roby’s case is expected to be dismissed.
The cornerback took to Twitter to chastise those he felt misrepresented the situation:
I was not drunk pic.twitter.com/CviiPuydkp
— Bradley Roby (@BradRoby_1) April 25, 2014 I was not driving . I did not get arrested . Was not in a cell . No finger prints . No mugshot
— Bradley Roby (@BradRoby_1) April 25, 2014 I have lost any respect I had left for the media. I take ownership in my part of it. But you run a story at least put out all facts ...
— Bradley Roby (@BradRoby_1) April 25, 2014 Roby is vying to become a first-round selection in the 2014 NFL Draft on May 8. He is projected to go 30th overall to the San Francisco 49ers in SB Nation's latest mock draft, and is rated as the 32nd-best overall player and third-best cornerback on SB Nation's top 200 big board.
No doubt, NFL teams will be keeping a close eye on Roby's arraignment. Poorly-timed legal trouble has hurt NFL Draft prospects in the past, perhaps none more notably than New England Patriots cornerback Alfonzo Dennard. The former Nebraska cornerback was arrested for assaulting a police officer in Lincoln just five days before the draft, and fell to the seventh round after being considered a potential second rounder.
Roby probably wouldn’t take the same tumble -- Dennard was convicted of a felony, whereas Roby committed a misdemeanor at worst -- but even if the case is dismissed it could hurt him by compounding past legal trouble. Roby was charged with battery in the summer of 2013 after an altercation at a bar in Bloomington, Ind. Though the charge was eventually reduced and dismissed, he still served out a one-game suspension from head coach Urban Meyer.
Roby’s citation adds to the file of “character concerns” that every NFL team has on every player in the draft at this point. Lucky for the cornerback, studies suggest that players with legal problems in their past go on to become better players than those who don’t.
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