New York Giants cornerback DeAndre Baker and Seahawks corner Quinton Dunbar are facing armed robbery charges stemming from a cookout where someone allegedly pulled a semi-automatic weapon and took a bunch of stuff. Both players are pleading not guilty because neither has that many takeaways.
This would have remained a relatively straightforward criminal case, but Dunbar’s attorney started waging his client’s case in the court of public opinion and now Baker’s attorney says his client will be suing Dunbar’s attorney for libel. But the players apparently remain friends… so that’s nice.
At issue is a Tweet sent by Dunbar’s attorney, Florida State Rep. Michael Grieco, attempting to dispel allegations that Dunbar and Baker had a motive to commit armed robbery because they’d lost a considerable amount of money at an earlier gambling party.
Baker’s attorney, Patrick Patel sees this as an effort to defame his client since Baker’s name is in the Tweet, placing him at this game that supposedly inspired a robbery. Grieco, has already faced criminal charges — he pleaded no contest — over a fundraising scandal, so being a party himself is just another day at the office for him.
“The text is complete bulls–t,’’ Patel said. “Read the text. You can say anybody is that person.”
Well, no, “Dre Baker” is pretty definitely referencing Patel’s client. That said, Patel points out that his client doesn’t have the tattoos shown in that image prompting the Post to write, “In other words, if the tats are amiss, you must dismiss” which is entirely groan-worthy and I approve 100 percent.
But Patel does key in on the more important takeaway from the text:
“Wasn’t it everybody’s bulls–t at the beginning that my client Baker lost $70,000? Now go read the text. The text is saying Baker won $10,000. So what are we doing?’’
But “what are we doing” cuts both ways because how is Grieco’s decision to pass along the original Tweet libelous if it on its face undermines the motive theory? Admittedly, Baker has already taken the position that he was playing Madden and not gambling during the party, meaning it could cast a modicum of doubt on his credibility, but if both stories fail to add up to “he needed cash to pay off debts” then it really shouldn’t matter.
If anybody should be upset by this it would be the poor Dolphins player who got taken down by his buddies like that. And obviously this story deals with armed robbery and libel which are far more important, but can we take a second to consider which Dolphin managed to get beat out of $10K?
That’s going to burden my mind much longer.
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.