Minnesota Vikings suspend one of their top coaches for weeks without pay
The Minnesota Vikings have suspended offensive coordinator Wes Phillips for three weeks after he plead guilty to a reduced charge stemming from a DWI arrest.Per ESPN's Kevin Seifert, Phillips' suspension starts on April 2 and will conclude on April 22. The Vikings OC won't get paid during the suspension, either. Phillips was arrested on December […]
The Minnesota Vikings have suspended offensive coordinator Wes Phillips for three weeks after he plead guilty to a reduced charge stemming from a DWI arrest.
Per ESPN's Kevin Seifert, Phillips' suspension starts on April 2 and will conclude on April 22. The Vikings OC won't get paid during the suspension, either.
Phillips was arrested on December 8 after a blood alcohol content (BAC) analysis showed a count of 0.10, which is 0.02 points higher than Minnesota's legal limit of 0.08. Despite being arrested on a Friday evening, Phillips took on his typical coaching duties two days later during the Vikings' 3-0 win over the Raiders.
He recently pled guilty to an amended charge of misdemeanor careless driving. He'll also pay a $300 fine and $78 surcharge, on top of community service work.
As part of an agreement with prosecutors, Phillips will plead guilty to an amended charge of misdemeanor careless driving. He will pay a $300 fine and a $78 surcharge, according to the documents, and perform eight hours of community work at a non-profit within 60 days. A hearing is scheduled for Friday in Hennepin County District Court to approve the agreement. – Kevin Seifert, ESPN
Now, everyone can move forward and Phillips can put this behind him. The obvious hope is he learns from this and it doesn't happen again.
"Aside from the standards I have for myself," Phillips told reporters a few days after his arrest. "I do understand that as a coach in this league there are certain standards from the NFL and from the Minnesota Vikings, and I didn't live up to those standards. The last thing I would ever want to do is detract from the attention being on the great things these guys do on the field. So that was unfortunate.
"I do believe in being accountable, and learning from your mistakes, accepting whatever discipline that may come down the road, growing from it and going forward with a positive attitude."
