Jay Mariotti pleads out; ESPN has 'no plans to use him at this time'
Sep 30, 2010, 5:17 PM EDT
Feisty ESPN talking head Jay Mariotti, surprising absolutely no one, pleaded no contest to one count of misdemeanor domestic violence today, receiving three years probation and 40 days of community labor by the Los Angeles court. Six other counts, including one each of false imprisonment and grand larceny, were dropped. The most interesting part: He must complete a “52-week domestic violence course” as part of the plea agreement. Brutal; that’s like a year of traffic school. One only hopes that the instructor has a mute button.
“Jay is very pleased to have this matter behind him and is anxious to get back to work,” said Mariotti’s attorney Nick Hanna. “While we are confident he would have prevailed at trial, the process would have been long and expensive. Today’s resolution — a no contest plea to a low-level misdemeanor with all of the other charges dismissed — ends the matter once and for all.”
Well, if Mariotti indeed goes back to work — no official word on that yet — his AOL readers and Around the Horn viewers will have something to say about that.
UPDATE: ESPN has “no plans to use him at this time.”
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ESPN personality Jay Mariotti pleads no contest to misdemeanor domestic violence charge [Los Angeles Times]
