Mike Ribeiro arrested for public intoxication after ladies skirmish
What does it say about our modern sports culture that upon hearing Dallas Stars center Mike Ribeiro(notes) was arrested for public intoxication, our first reaction was palpable relief that this wasn't another pro athlete/rocket scientist that was pinched for driving while intoxicated?
On 10/10/10 at 23:26 hours, Mike Ribeiro (Dallas Stars hockey player) and three associates were arrested at Ra Sushi Bar Restaurant (7501 Lone Star Drive). Three of the individuals were arrested for Public Intoxication and the other individual was arrested for Public Intoxication and Assault. All 4 individuals were transported to the Plano City Jail and were bonded out at 04:44 hours...
Some additional reporting from Dallas Stars Blog. According to sources we don't actually have, police became suspicious of Ribeiro's mental state when they administered a rarely used "shootout" sobriety test and witnessed him lackadaisically shoot from the blue line ...
McDonald explained that Ribeiro was dining at Rasushi, located in the 7500 block of Lone Star Drive, with 39-year-old Darcy Lewis and 39-year-old Tammy Williams, who is Ribeiro's wife. The two women got into an altercation with other patrons at the restaurant and an off-duty officer who was working there intervened.
Ribeiro's party, which also included 36-year-old Wane Lewis, was escorted outside. All four were taken into custody for public intoxication. Wane Lewis was also charged with assault after, police said, he lunged at an officer during the arrest.
At least this incident occurred late in the evening at a bar; unlike, say, at the ticket counter of an airport, which is just another reason why hockey's better than basketball.
We'll update with a statement from the Stars should they issue one, as we imagine they're quite upset that this wasn't done in conjunction with Ott-tober Fest at Hooters.
(UPDATE: Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk says: "We are aware of the incident with Mike Ribeiro that took place on Sunday evening. The Dallas Stars take these matters very seriously and we have spoken with Mike about the situation this morning. We will be handling the matter internally.")
We'll also keep an eye out if there's anything from the NHL as far as supplemental discipline, as the CBA gives the League the power to punish someone for sneezing in the wrong direction while working for an NHL team (although it sounds like Ribeiro was in a "wrong place/wrong intoxicated angry women" situation).
Meanwhile, we're left with this lingering question: How much was that sake bill, exactly?