Sports

Nets Suspend Jason Kidd 2 Games Related to Drunken Driving Accident

Kidd will miss first two games as coach of the Brooklyn Nets.

Written by Taylor Vecsey.

Jason Kidd had just signed with the New York Knicks when he drove drunk, crashed and was arrested. Now, at the start of his head coaching career, he's paying the consequences on the court.

The NBA has suspended Kidd for two games because he pled guilty to a drunken driving charge in Southampton Town Justice Court in July.

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According to the The New York Daily News, he won't even be allowed in the building for the Brooklyn Nets' season opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Oct. 30 and the home opener against the Miami Heat on Nov. 1.

Kidd was on his way to his house in Water Mill when he went through a stop sign and into the woods, taking down a utility pole and some trees in July 2012. Southampton Town police charged him with driving while intoxicated, a misdemeanor.

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Kidd pleaded guilty as charged under a plea bargain this summer. He received interim probation, which mandated two speaking engagements at Southampton High School and Longwood High School in Middle Island, which he completed on Sept. 27

On Monday, Justice Andrea Schiavoni ruled he had successfully completed the terms of the plea bargain, and his record will now reflect a lesser conviction of driving while ability impaired, a violation, his Sag Harbor attorney Edward Burke Jr. said on Wednesday.

Kidd's license will remain suspended for 90 days.

He also paid an $8,100 fine in restitution to the Long Island Power Authority for the downed pole.

Asked how important it was for Kidd to get this case wrapped up before the season starts, Burke said, "We thought it was very important, personally and professionally."



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