Letting Chris Webber off with a slap on the wrist shows that the justice system failed to treat every citizen fair and equal. It signifies yet another case of a professional athlete given preferential treatment and being let off too easily.
The Sacramento Kings forward and former University of Michigan basketball player pleaded guilty Monday to lying to a federal grand jury about $280,000 he supposedly received from former U-M basketball booster Ed Martin between 1988 and 1993.
Webber's maximum penalty for the charges is five years in prison and a fine of $250,000. He is expected to avoid prison time but will face a fine. Doing the math, it becomes apparent Webber will be the only one smiling when all is said and done.
Even if he faces a quarter-million dollar fine, it will not be enough to negate the $280,000 Martin gave him, so he will walk away not really losing any money before lawyer fees. This shouldn't be a problem for Webber, who has a 7-year, $123-million contract with the Kings.
Webber admittedly lied to a federal grand jury, yet he is the one least affected by his own actions. But U-M's reputation has already taken a hit as a result.
The university's coach and players are paying for the decisions Webber made eight years ago. Championship banners have been removed from Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, where Webber played for two years. And the university has been forced to forfeit a majority of its victories in the early 1990s.
When Webber is leading his team to the playoffs next spring, the Wolverines will be watching the NCAA postseason on TV, banned for the second straight year.
When an athlete is allowed to break the law and get away with it as easily as Webber likely will, it creates a problem both for professional sports and for players everywhere, not to mention the effects left on the community. It lets other players know their actions likely aren't to have a tremendous impact on their lives, regardless of what their actions may be.
To a millionaire athlete such as Webber, $250,000 is comparable to pocket change. Once an athlete becomes accustomed to multimillion-dollar contracts and knows he or she can get away with a crime, it becomes an issue not of whether it is wrong to break the law but rather if they can afford to break it.
Webber's career is not going to end because of his actions, nor will his reputation be tarnished.
Webber will be playing basketball while U-M will have more sanctions imposed upon it, asininely making a mockery of the justice system.
