Bucs RB gets 30 days and 3 years' probation, but he has to stay clean or it could be worse.
By GREG AUMAN
Published April 24, 2004
Michael Pittman can return to the Bucs and his family, an Arizona judge ruled Friday, but first, the 28-year-old running back will spend at least two weeks in jail.
Pittman, who pleaded guilty to a felony count of endangerment last month, was sentenced to three years of supervised probation and a 30-day jail sentence, which he'll start Monday. He walked out of court hand in hand with his wife, Melissa, who spoke in her husband's defense Friday despite being one of the victims, according to police, in his arrest in May.
"I'm happy to be reunited with my wife," Pittman said. "Me and my wife, we just want to put this behind us. I wanted to get it over with, so I can get back to my family as soon as possible."
By Arizona law, Pittman's 30-day sentence, minus two days served, can be cut in half with good behavior. His sentence includes two more months in jail, one deferred to October and another to March, but those would be postponed or dropped if he abides by the guidelines of his probation.
"It is not my intention that you serve the jail time in October or March," circuit court judge David Talamante told Pittman. "This is simply to ensure this doesn't happen again."
Pittman was accused by police of using his Hummer to ram his wife's Mercedes-Benz, which also had their 2-year-old child and an 18-year-old babysitter inside. Pittman's attorney argued Friday that neither car was traveling faster than 10 mph, and that Pittman was trying to keep his wife from leaving while on prescription medication. Melissa said her husband, despite three domestic-violence-related convictions since 1997, is not an abusive person as he has been portrayed, adding that her support of him has nothing to do with the $1.5-million he is due to make this fall.
"It's not about money, it's not about fame," she said. "If my husband was a garbage man, I'd be there with him 100 percent. . . . We've worked so hard to bridge the gap, so this situation, not in a million years will (it) ever happen again."
Pittman still faces sanctioning from the NFL, likely a multigame suspension for his second violation of the league's personal conduct policy. Such a suspension would further jeopardize his future with the Bucs.
The team's response to learning the fate of its leading rusher the past two seasons was a notably short statement issued from general manager Bruce Allen: "We expect Michael to adhere to the judge's ruling."
Prosecutors said their only issue with the sentencing was that Talamante directly granted Pittman contact with his wife, rather than having a probation officer approve it. Attorney Joel Thompson said though Pittman and his wife have both lived in Tampa for the past 11 months, they've done so at separate residences to avoid violating noncontact mandates.
As for his future with the team, Thompson said Pittman wanted to have his legal troubles resolved before today's draft, giving the Bucs an opportunity to bring in someone else if he were unable to play.
"The Buccaneers now know what his situation is, and for Michael, that was a priority," he said. "If they had to replace him, he wanted them to know that. He's delighted to be able to continue playing for them."
- Information from the Arizona Republic was used in this report.
