The big letdown

CJ Sapong has let a lot of people down. He's let down the fans who were looking forward to seeing him help lead the Philadelphia Union out of their current funk. He's let down his teammates, who were counting on the young forward to be able to do his job. He's certainly let down his family, who were contacted by the Union after CJ's arrest. But perhaps most importantly, he's let himself down.

I'm not going to make excuses for Sapong's behavior. We don't know the full details of what happened. Pennsylvania's DUI laws are written to include driving under both the influence of alcohol and drugs, so to speculate if he'd been drinking of if it was the side-effect of painkillers he may have been prescribed for his injuries would be reckless on our part. But the fact remains that he put himself and anyone who was out on the roads in grave danger.

Sapong is not out of the woods yet. The reckless driving charge is a $200 fine if convicted, however depending on the severity of his impairment, he could be looking at anything from probation to "imprisonment of not less than 72 consecutive hours" - a misdemeanor that could be raised up to 364 days in jail. Not getting to play soccer is the least of Sapong's worries at this point.

I hope that the treatment program helps CJ out. I hope it helps him more effectively deal with whatever he's going through that got him to this point. And I hope he can use this experience and his position as a professional athlete to warn others against the dangers of driving under the influence.