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The upsetting condition of a former Volunteer

by Tony Basilio

It was a brutal NFL draft weekend for Tennessee football. For the first time in over a quarter century, Tennessee failed to have a player taken on the first day of the draft.

That is, unless you count former Vol Leonard Little, who was taken—taken into custody on Saturday, April 24, on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. Little was selected before the first round even started when his vehicle was stopped for speeding at 3:57 a.m. draft day Saturday on Ladue, Mo., Highway 40.

The police report said Little was booked on suspicion of driving while intoxicated and speeding. Remember, a player must have blazing speed to get drafted in the first round. And when it comes to DUI, Little is a big player. The 29-year-old former Vol has spent the past five years of his life trying to rehabilitate his public image following an alcohol-related accident that claimed the life of a St. Louis woman, Susan Gutweiler.

In the fall of 1998, Little’s luxury Navigator SUV ran a red light in downtown St. Louis and collided with the car of the married mother of a teenager. At the time of the accident, the former Vol’s blood-alcohol level was 0.19, nearly double what was then the legal limit in Missouri.

Following the accident, Little was sentenced to 90 nights on work release, four years probation and 1,000 hours of community service. That was apparently the legal value of the life that Little took. Oh, and he was also suspended for eight games by the NFL for violation of the league’s substance-abuse policy. What did you want the NFL to do? The guy is a great pass rusher!

And rush is just what the St. Louis Rams did in guaranteeing Little’s place on the team. Dick Vermeil, head coach at the time, decided against releasing him, citing the organization’s need to rally around the young man in his time of grief. Vermeil reasoned that Little was a quality human being, one who deserved a second chance in life and football. And a great pass rusher.

Vermeil was vindicated in his decision as Little blossomed into one of the premier pass-rushing ends in the game. In 2000, his second full season back, Little logged five sacks on his way to claiming a Super Bowl ring. The ’01 campaign saw Little soar, leading the Rams with 14.5 sacks.

He also began speaking to the press about that fateful night in the fall of ’98. Gutweiler was raising a 15-year old boy. Little had to cope with the fact that his recklessness had ended her life.

He even flirted briefly with the possibility of giving up football, he said. In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel a couple of years ago, Little talked about the pain and inner conflict of that time: “I stayed at home with my mom [in Knoxville]. I was downstairs in a dark room for three or four weeks by myself... At one point I thought I would never come back and play.”

Little also resorted to the most worn cliché of the fallen hero looking to regain public support, discussing how God brought him through his of trouble. “At that time I had fallen off a little bit, because it was my first time in the league and all the stuff that goes on in the NFL, I had fell off,” Little said of his religious convictions. “That situation brought me closer to God and close to stuff I need to be involved in.”

Little was sorry, I’m sure, but why get God involved in what he did? How nauseatingly predictable.

Later in that same article, Rams General Manager Charley Armey justifies the team’s enabling of the former UT star: “Leonard Little is one of the finest people on our football team. It was an unfortunate situation. But character is the key. He’s a high-fiber, high-character young man and he was able to overcome a tragedy in his life. A day doesn’t go by that he doesn’t feel the tragedy.” It doesn’t seem that Little was feeling very much when he was pulled over on draft day.

Whether Little is truly contrite about his past is uncertain. What is clear is that he failed to learn from his mistake. This designated pass rusher still doesn’t grasp the value of a designated driver. Because he can rush the passer, Little was given a multi-million dollar second chance, an opportunity he has squandered.

Since he served his previous probationary period without a transgression, Leonard faces little jail time this time around. Don’t hold your breath on the NFL’s system of justice, either. A few hours after his arrest, Rams Head Coach Mike Martz had this to say: “I don’t know enough about that whole situation to comment. This is something that has to be dealt with.”

Which is another way of saying that the Rams have to figure out a way to get Little on the field again. He will appear in court on June 9 to answer the charges. I hope he’s only guilty of bad judgment, but I won’t bet on it.

Tune in and talk sports with “The Tony Basilio Show” each weekday from 3-6 p.m. on the network (670 WMTY-AM, 850 WKVL-AM, 1140 WLOD-AM, 1290 WATO-AM, or 1400 WGAP-AM)

May 6, 2004 • Vol. 14, No. 19 © 2004 Metro Pulse