Once upon a time, there was a behemoth of a man named Carter, who could toss around a football like it was a beach ball. His skills helped lead his team to back-to-back national championships, and it looked like his future in the N.F.L. was as bright as a diamond in the sky. However, all that glittering championship glory came to a screeching halt when Carter was involved in a car crash that resulted in two tragic deaths, including one of his own teammates. Talk about a game-changing play…
For the next two weeks, the N.F.L. world waited with bated breath to see if Carter’s career was over before it ever began. The odds weren’t looking too good when he was slapped with two misdemeanor charges related to the car crash. But lo and behold, he managed to escape time behind bars and emerged with a sentence of 12 months’ probation, a $1,000 fine, 80 hours of community service, and, wait for it, a defensive driving course. Just like that, he was back in the game.
Unfortunately for Carter, his prospects in the N.F.L. were no longer a slam dunk. He made some questionable choices, like not visiting with teams outside of the top 10 (way to be elitist, Carter) and failing to impress scouts during his showcases. Suddenly, he went from being a top prospect to one of those unidentifiable blobs that you see in the sky where you’re like, “Is that a bird? Is that a plane? No, it’s just Carter’s future in the N.F.L. plummeting.”

Serious News: nytimes