Well this is certainly interesting. Just run a straight Google search with the terms "Shirley," "arrest" and "suspension" and an interesting story will pop up. From an AP wire story in October, 2007:
Fresno State suspended defensive lineman Jason Shirley for the rest of the season Saturday, ending the senior's career after his arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence.
Shirley, a 330-pound tackle who started 13 games over his first three seasons, was arrested Oct. 8 after crashing his car into an apartment building. Police said Shirley left the scene of the accident, and had a blood-alcohol level of 0.12, above the legal limit of 0.08.
Shirley already served a two-game suspension last month for undisclosed conduct detrimental to the team. He then played in three games before his arrest, recording four tackles for losses, two sacks and a forced fumble.
Yes, that Jason Shirley none other than the older brother of latest Husky of Josh Shirley who was arrested and then dismissed from UCLA for one quarter based on serious allegation of stealing from another UCLA student. Jason Shirly was found guilty of DUI despite an "interesting defense":
In Shirley's first trial, Fresno State coach Pat Hill took the stand and testified that Shirley suffered a concussion during a game against Nevada. The defense was that the concussion caused Shirley to make these bad decisions. That ended in a mistrial.
The second trial just concluded and after three hours of deliberation, the jury found Shirley guilty on three misdemeanor counts. He was sentenced to 30 days in a work program.
This time around, Shirley took the stand in his own behalf and admitted that he drank a 40 oz bottle of beer at a buddy's house before getting into the car. He also testified that the beer didn't make him drunk though two tests showed he was well over the legal limit.
Guess taking responsibility was not something Jason Shirley was familiar with during his "college career" in Fresno State. We don't know all the facts surrounding Jason Shirley's younger sibling Josh Shirley. However, based on the conversations we have had in recent days in the back ground we are more than comfortable with the decisive action CRN took with regards to the situation of Shirley and two other incoming freshmen.
Washington and Steve Sarkisian can spin all they want in taking chances with someone who was deemed even too risky for a program like Southern Cal. It certainly appears that rather than feel guilty about his actions based on allegations of stealing from a member of the Bruin family, Shirley took the easy way out of playing the victim and run to Washington. Guess Shirley is going to fit in real well with a program run in the model of Pete Carroll.
GO BRUINS.