BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. – ESPN analyst and former NBA player Jalen Rose was sentenced to 20 days in jail Wednesday for a drunken-driving crash along a snowy suburban Detroit road.
Rose, a college star at the University of Michigan, actually was sentenced to 92 days in custody, but District Court Judge Kimberly Small suspended all but 20. He was also given a year of probation.
"You're not here because you drank. I have no problem with that; have at it," the judge said. "I do mind when you get behind the wheel of a two-ton vehicle and use it as a weapon against the rest of us."
Rose pleaded guilty in May. At that time, he said he veered off a West Bloomfield Township road in March after drinking six martinis. His blood-alcohol content was 0.12 percent, above Michigan's legal driving limit of 0.08. No one was injured.
"I have no one to blame but myself for endangering the community," Rose said in court Wednesday.
Rose's attorney, James Burdick, noted that the probation department did not recommend jail.
"The people have hired me, not my probation department," the judge replied.
Prominent people sent letters to the court supporting Rose, including Detroit Mayor Dave Bing. Rose, a Detroit native, is opening a school in the city that will bear his name.
"Judge Small, for what it's worth, I fully believe Jalen was being truthful to me when he stated, `I will never drink and drive again or ever be in any other court for any violation of the law,"' Bing wrote.
Rose played 13 NBA seasons and now is a pro basketball analyst at ESPN.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.