Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Donte’ Stallworth had an interesting interview Tuesday on ESPN’s Jim Rome Is Burning in which he said he knows that he’ll never erase the fact that he drove drunk and struck and killed a pedestrian, but he also believes he should try to move on with his life.
Noting that Stallworth will return to the NFL in 2010 after a 2009 in which he served 24 days in jail and was suspended from football for the entire season, Jim Rome asked Stallworth, “Have you been able to put that out of your mind and turn the page completely on what happened?”
Stallworth answered, “I don’t think you ever can do that, Jim. But I think to the best of my ability I’ve been able to move forward in life and really try to find a sense of serenity in my own self and understand that I’ve been given another chance -- really just keeping my faith in God and just trying to move forward.”
Asked if he’ll always be judged by the events of March 14, 2009, when he struck and killed a man named Mario Reyes, Stallworth answered, “People who really know me, who have known me for a while and been around me, know what kind of person I am. But for people who don’t know me, they may judge me off this one instance. But if someone takes the time to get to know me, they’ll know that I’m not the kind of person that has been portrayed in the media.”
Stallworth said he hopes he can be an example to others, to “show people how to make the right decisions and look at the things that I’ve done and learn from that.”
