American striker Charlie Davies could face prison time in France after revealing that he made false statements to French police following an incident where he and Sochaux teammate Jacques Faty were caught driving 125 MPH.
Davies had told police he was the driver of the car clocked driving 125 last Saturday, but revealed on Saturday that it was, in fact, Faty who was driving. According to Davies and Faty, they switched seats after being pulled over for speeding because Faty was driving with a suspended license (or at least thought he was) and the two mistakenly believed Davies would avoid serious punishment.
According to Davies, he was laying down in the car as the two were driving to Paris last Saturday and was unaware that Faty was driving his Audi Q7 125 MPH. When police pulled Faty over, the Senegalese-born defender concocted the terrible idea to tell police Davies was driving, assuming that an American would face less trouble with police.
Now, both Davies and Faty could face prison time for lying to police, though jail time seems to be a worst-case scenario for a player with no prior criminal record. Either way, the whole affair is an unfortunate and embarrassing one for Davies, who nearly died in a car accident exactly one year ago today.
I’m a bit shocked there are so many Charlie Davies apologists floating around this comment page.
I don’t see how you could spin this any other way than the guy just being immature and lacking in sense.
Someone said he was “instinctively covering for his teammate”… Really? That’s a crock. He had to be convinced to support Faty’s story in the first place. Furthermore, was he unselfishly covering for his teammate when he recanted his statement, now landing both he and his teammate with jail time? Wow Charlie, way to be a team player!
I’m not saying we should drive him from the village and burn him at the stake or anything, but at this point you have to look at players who work hard AND have the good sense to stay out dangerous situations.
A lot of athletes “feel the need for speed”. I would ask: Had the car crashed would you be more inclined to agree? Speeding tickets seem benign enough, but a lot of athletes think their success amounts to a right to disregard things like traffic laws.
No soap box? Damn, i was just going to yell at him for his lousy fuel economy.
Definitely an idiot move, but some of you people need to get off your soapbox…
i’ve never seen people react to an effing speeding ticket like this… for crissakes what is wrong with these people?!?!?! Oh my they have never gotten a speeding ticket, and people who speed are now all going to hell where they deserve to belong?
What is with this!? Further proof the people whose voices are heard most in America are idiots, which is why our democracy is in shambles.
Melodramatic much?
If he truly was not driving and was asleep in the car, then how in the world is this his fault???
a speeding ticket is hardly the glamorous life claiming another footballer. Hookers and prostitutes while drunk driving is a lot different than speeding sober and getting pulled over…also most glamorous footballers wouldn’t help their friend out like that…
Yeah! Taking one for the team, or teammate as the case may be, is a terrible instinct to have, especially when said teammate tells you he could go to jail for a simple speeding ticket. Go to hell Charlie Davies, and take your self sacrificing teamwork with you!!! Athletes these days need to be more selfish!!!
I’m not sure which incident is more disturbing, but I am leaning toward the new one. He should have known better. If I managed the club, I’d think about releasing him.
He’s not perfect. Just like the rest of us. We’ll all f ups in various ways and to different degrees. This is why you don’t revere athletes just because they can kick a ball.
Exactly.. all of these people who were let down by CD sound like over righteous A-holes
Charles: We’ll suppress the “dear” and the “Davies”. Before, we called an act of “naivete” and “error in judgment”.
Now we call it an act of “stupidity” and a total switch from your brain to your butt.
What a waste of talent, when there is so little among American forwards.
But, hey, “mejores cosas se han perdido…”
Efren95
Texas Soccer Republic
“No matter where you go, there you are.”
I don’t see how coming back to the USA would cure his issues.
I have owned two BMW M3s and never received a speeding ticket. Like the Q7, they come equipped with speedometers (no extra charge!). Your “blame the car” logic is weak, to say the least.
Just goes from bad to worse for this guy.
What the hell is wrong with professional sports stars?
You obviously have never gone 125mph in a car that costs more than you make in a year. Seriously, I was on a road trip last year, hit 130 and my friend who was sitting passenger side all of a sudden says SLOW DOWN, This is after a solid 25 minutes of me going 110+ and he had no clue the entire time that I was going over 80. It’s hilarious how smooth the ride can be in an expensive car. And i’m sorry, him speeding has nothing to do with his footballing, it’s absolutely absurd some of these responses
Truly an unfortunate situation. Count me as one who is sad to see this happen, he said he knew Faty was going fast but not That fast. That is something that I just simply can’t believe, 125 mph is such a high rate of speed that if he were in a cardboard box in the trunk he would’ve know the driver was flying. Stupid, stupid decision by Charlie. The boys got some growing up to do before he can count himself as a real professional.
I think most of us game him the benefit of the doubt last year, and rightfully so because of the magnitude of it literally being a life and death situation.
However, this is now a troubling pattern of poor decision making by Charlie.
It’s time to grow up Charlie. We can chalk up last year to a poor mistake, but at least learn from it this time please.
those sound like some shoddy instincts to me.
This last winter I made a post saying, I hope he learns from his stupid decision ( riding with a drunk ), that we shouldn’t be worshipping him and I hope that he doesn’t make other bad decisions.
I was RIPPED to shreads.
Let me just say ( again ) and I will be shocked if others disagree,
he should not worshipped,
he is making VERY stupid decisions,
and I hope that he figures it out…
They have nothing to do with one another. In fact, some of the same traits that lead to trouble in life lead to success on the field. In fact, what davies did probably could be put down to the instinct to cover for a team mate.
I agree!!
Depends: Can France extradite?
and it also boils down to two adults being really dumb.
I’m happy that the posters on this article recognize the stupidity of Davies’ actions and are not trying to defend him simply because he wasn’t driving. I wouldn’t say that I am any less of a fan of Davies, or that I do not hope that he returns to the USMNT, but I pray to the soccer gods that he becomes a bit more responsible.
Could it be time for young CD to “come back home” to MLS (or D2) and get his head on straight?
Really? God sir YOU need to grow up too!
I was surprisingly one of the few but now time has given me the benefit of the doubt that this kid
1. Is lucky to be alive
2. He is still a kid!
3. should had been fined by the USSF FOR BREAKING CURFEW and almost killing himself
Regardless of what the story is it doesn’t matter he was wrong and immature. I hope I never see him in a national team shirt with his shortsightness and way of seeing life!!! Hopefully Sochaux does what the USSF didn’t and punish him internally. That’s what he needs.
And the glamorous life of a footballer claims another young talent.
Sorry Charlie. I had the highest of hopes for you, but at a certain point patterns of immaturity and irresponsibility become indications of stupidity and lack of focus. The US pool has no shortage of players itching for a chance to break into the national team picture. I’d rather give one of those guys a chance than waste any more time on someone so unbelievably thick-headed. Nevermind he put himself into these situations, repeatedly…But lying to the cops and later trying to backpedal out of it? Unacceptable.
So, first the curfew stupidity, then the ironic repetition, then admittance that you tried to get a reckless driver off while also shirking responsibility?
I mean, I can’t even fathom this.
Yeah bonehead decision by CD to be sure, but all this righteous “you lost me as a fan” crap and “how could you” indignation is a bit over the top.
Break curfew and end up in a wreck that killed 1 person!! Check
Be caught in a car speeding at 125 mph, lie about who’s driving and then fess up after you see what the consequences cab be… Check
Is Davies our new Freddy??? Will he actually get back to playing??
sounds like davies fiancee needs to get involved and smack him upside the head
Wow, the haters just want to pile on. Having driven all over Europe, it is easy for someone to go over 100mph, and if the ride is very smooth, you’d never know if your seat was reclined. My brother has a Q7, and my sis-in-law was driving it from LA to Mammoth, and she hit 100mph, while talking to her 6 yr old. I wanted to say something, but you know, sometimes you just can’t without starting WW3. It was so easy for the Q7 to hit 100mph without anyone noticing because it’s a German SUV and the higher you ride, the less sensation of speed.
As for Charlie and the decision, well, there’s only moments to decide what to do, and with a teammate begging you to NOT BE SELFISH and help him avoid prison, and with last year’s accident being characterized as a selfish act, well, it’s easy to see how Charlie chose to help his teammate. That’s pretty instinctual.
It’s easy to crucify Charlie with the benefit of hindsight, but I doubt the crucifiers would have been so righteous if they had been in the same difficult situation.
and Justin Braun
jesus…wtf davies
A lot of our guys rise and fall, and hopefully, rise again.
Quaranta, EJ, Donovan.
Convey, Bocanegra, Onyewu, Bornstein, Pearce, Feilhaber, and others have had rough stretches to overcome, although not mentally.
Hopefully Davies will rise, but to be honest it is probably something that is pretty far off.
I am not holding out for Davies for Gold Cup. He is on a life-lesson roller coaster and that will take time…
For now we worry about working with Altidore, EJ, Findley, Buddle, and Dempsey, maybe Wondolowski until citizenship or maturation of other players happens.
Yup and yep.
From Charlie’s twitter: “Assisted on game winner today. We won 2-0. My best outing yet! Feeling great and I’m so very close to 1st team action. Thank you all! Bless!” God damnit this would happen.
Dear Charlie Davies: I used to feel sorry for you. I no longer do. I had hoped that you would have learned from your very bad mistake, but it seems that you have not. Please no longer consider me a fan. –Matt
Davies and Faty’s second story has a lot of holes in it. I am not sure what to believe but I am not convinced Davies wasn’t the driver
“When police pulled Faty over, the Senegalese-born defender concocted the terrible idea to tell police Davies was driving, assuming that an American would face less trouble with police.”
This boils down to racism, which is very prevelant in France.
I think God just told Davies to “be humble, lest we forget.” I think the exactly one year thing is too much to be coincidence.
Davies won’t go to jail, its just a message from God.
: )
dumbass. a year ago davies was the star of the USMNT. Now, he’s just embarrassing himself.
…Idiot…
Even if he was in the passenger seat, I have a hard time believing that he didn’t know how fast Faty was going. I like Davies, and although I hope for both his sake and the USMNT’s that he comes all the way back to where he was before the crash, it’s clear that he still has some growing up to do.
I hope Davies learns the lessons he needs to learn. Better late than never!
Soccer America article says 6 months and a $10,000 fine.
The article says Davies didn’t want to do it but Faty insisted.
Bad decisions in life, frequently (but not always) lead to bad decisions on the pitch. Let’s hope he becomes a bit wiser from all these somewhat bad decisions, especially in an auto (and with other drivers), and becomes a better player on the field. If, indeed, he does kill himself first!
I’m hearing 6 months in jail and a fine.