[unpaved313]

First Post! Wahoo!



Probably not the thought that was running through Go-Show's mind though...



I'd ask just what the heck he was thinking, but given his behavior over the years, I'm not sure he's capable of conscious thought...

 

[kpaul]

What Motorcycling Racing needs is a racing team like the old Oakland Raiders

I would get Yates and Gobert to race Buell Firebolts (Black and Silver) in the Formula Extreme class. Well maybe not Buells but... The point is that these guys are motorcycle riders which makes them a little extraordinary (crazy) in the first place. I don't think Gobert should be praised for his off track antics but he will face the consequences in court. Does that make him unfit to race motorcycles?

Would you lose your job if you received a DUI?

I think Erion should of fined him. Make him do community service. Make him look at film footage of car crashes caused by DUI drivers but to lose his job seems a little harsh. Or am I being too soft almost liberal like in my suggested punishment

 

[ender]

Re: What Motorcycling Racing needs is a racing team like the old Oakland Raiders

I am an Officer in the U.S. Navy. I WOULD lose my job if I got a DUI. Personally I don't see much difference between firing a gun into a crowd and driving drunk; they should both carry a severe penalty.

 

[mps165]

Gobert is a professional, and as such his actions on and off the track reflect his organization (Erion and Honda). His irresponsible behavior driving while intoxicated is not the behavior any responsible organization would would tolerate. If I got a DUI outside of my job, I would get fired as well. I agree with Honda and Erion and hope this sets an example for other people.

 

[pdad13]

He ain't an accountant. I imagine that Honda has every right to be sensitive about this kind of thing. He represents Erion/Honda. What does it say when you have a drunk driver riding your motorcycles at 190 miles per hour?



I'm sure there was some kind of morals clause in his contract that covered things like this.



Fact is, most of us can get fired for millions of reasons. Most of us don't have contracts; we're "at will" employees, which basically means that they can hire us at will or fire us at will (with certain limitations).

 

[pdad13]

Re: What Motorcycling Racing needs is a racing team like the old Oakland Raiders

After seeing Aaron Yates' feeble attempt at "whooping some ass," Al Davis would never have him.

Jeez, the guy looked like he couldn't walk and chew gum at the same time. How the hell does he ride so good? He's a freakin' dork.

 

[kpaul]

Re: What Motorcycling Racing needs is a racing team like the old Oakland Raiders

I see your point and respect your position. He is Austrailian I think. I wonder how it would be handled down under or in Europe.

 

[kpaul]

Re: What Motorcycling Racing needs is a racing team like the old Oakland Raiders

"After seeing Aaron Yates' feeble attempt at "whooping some ass," Al Davis would never have him." LOL good point.

 

[grubz916]

I can't believe I'm about to say this but...

KPaul, you're not making this easy but I have to partially agree with you. Its refreshing from time to time to see a rider, or any person for that matter, who flushes political correctness down the loo. I'm not condoning what he did, since the consequences can be quite grave and not just to him, but having grown up watching the likes of Barry Sheene, Joey Dunlop (who could never resist a pint), Gary Nixon, etc..etc.., a little antisocial behavior is welcome nowadays. Fkuk the establishment and show your colors from time to time! Any sport suffers if you take away that element of naughtiness, whether its bike racing, hockey, basketball, etc.. In any case I don't know kind of punishment Erion should impose, but it shouldn't be more severe than what Yates got for his spaz attack.

BTW, FTR, I would not lose my job explicitly because of a DUI, since I don't drive for a living. But it would make my personal life much more difficult having a suspended license, which would certainly carry over onto the professional side affecting my performance, and possibly my employment.

Oh and one more thing, I'd love to see them two race against each other, just as long as Gobert pisses in Yates helmet, just like he did to Hodgson at the Czech GP eons ago.

 

[SparkyBlue]

No brainer business decision for Honda. Gobert's actions were bad news. Tolerance for dumb jock bahavior seems to be waning....good

 

[pdad13]

Re: What Motorcycling Racing needs is a racing team like the old Oakland Raiders

See, we can get along. What was funnier was watching the Yates' "attack." What a goofball.

 

[1163]

Re: What Motorcycling Racing needs is a racing team like the old Oakland Raiders

Having received one DUI in 1990 I'm on a two stikes your out status. One more and I'm gone.

I quit drinking with the help of my company's employee assistance program after getting my only DUI while on company business and totally destroying a company car by slamming it into the back of a log truck at over 90 mph. If I were to get arrested for some other drug related charges that would also count as my second strike and, yes, I would be GONE!

While Gobert wasn’t drunk on company business he is held to a higher standard than I am. He represents Erion Racing whether on track or off. He has had MANY chances in his riding career but he continues to squander the goodwill of those who continue to hope he'll get his s**t together.

Where did this happen? Was it California? If it was then he’ll likely spend some time in county lockup. Cali has some of the strictest DUI laws in the nation. Even in ’90 it was mandatory jail time for first offence and I think it’s gotten harsher since then.

I, like others, hope he gets it together and gets the help he needs. For someone with his skills to be satisfied with the life of an, "I used to be a star!" has-been drunk and drug addict is hard to see. One thing for sure though: If he doesn't do something to get clean he will be nothing more than a footnote in racing history.

 

[pdad13]

Re: I can't believe I'm about to say this but...

Ya know, I don't mind a little naughtiness in sports, either. It adds drama and helps you choose someone to root for or to root against. It's all theater to a certain degree. But, up until recently, many athletes were behaving as if they were the second coming of Nero–and no one seemed to care. And the fact that DWI (or DUI) involves wrecklessly piloting a vehicle/weapon at speed, it reflects particularly badly on someone who races motorcycles.

I understand people make mistakes. Anyone could have one drink too many, think they're fine, and get behind the wheel. But that is the very reason why we've become so sensitive about it. And in context of Gobert's pattern of behavior, you have to wonder whether "just being mischevious" has turned to "wreckless, self-destructive and anti-social."

And being riders, we should be particularly intolerant of DWI. We are the most vulnerable out there. How tragic, yet ironic, would it be if Gobert killed one of us out on the road?

There's naughtiness, and then there's something far more serious

 

[kpaul]

Excellent Post, I wonder if there is another way to do it though

Your post really hit home. I wonder if Enron would of suspended him for the year at a partial salary with the understanding he do rehab, community service, etc. would it be a better solution.

 

[kpaul]

Re: I can't believe I'm about to say this but...

I just wonder if Enron would of suspended him for the year at a partial salary with the understanding he do rehab, community service, etc. would it be a better solution.

However, you make a good point about "How tragic, yet ironic, would it be if Gobert killed one of us out on the road? " I wonder if I would be feeling as tolerant if he would of injured or killed someone.

It just seems to be a waste of talent that this guy can't get help and get it together.

 

[sarnali]

Drunk drivers kill people, if he was working for me I'd have fired him too.

PR is a pretty fragile thing and behavior like this doesn't reflect well on your organization whatever it is

The days of "I couldn't help it, I was drunk" as an excuse are dead. It's not funny or cute anymore

 

[1747]

KPaul u r my hero. For one thing, it happened in Huntington Beach–DUI capitol of the world, a partying hot-spot, Surf City, with a notoriously hard-ass police force. (I got my DUI in Newport Beach, right down the street.) For another thing, CA limit is 0.8. For the average Joe who likes a few beers, that's like two in an hour. Make an illegal turn, have a taillight out, give them any excuse to stop you–and off you go to HB Gaol. Of course everybody is opposed to truly drunk people careening wildly about, but DUI is now in the majority of cases a far more lucrative revenue generator for cities and the state than the traditional speeding ticket, and one it's easy to get the public behind.

In a perfect world, Gobert's employer might wait for the outcome of his trial, find out the circumstances and what his blood alcohol was, but we're talking Honda–a company which has alienated all sorts of riders to its own detriment.

Sadly, given his history, I fear Gobert Senior may be done. My own thinking on the topic began back in the day when AG was kicking ass on Muzzy Kawasakis and got busted for weed: maybe the rest of the field should try an occasional puff and see if they could catch up?

When I got the boot from a magazine job for "drunken unprofessional behavior" at a Honda press launch, they threw my DUI from a year earlier up in my face too. Pointless, really, to point out that President Bush also has a DUI on his record.

 

[blitz]

1. My guess is that the CA limit is 0.08. Death usually occurs around 0.5 to 0.6 BAC.

2. If Go-Show blew a 0.08, he is seriously impaired. Associates of mine are involved in a driving simulator driving impairment study (looking at the effects of alcohol on younger drivers), and if you're blowing a 0.08, you are very impaired. It is NOT two beers per hour, unless you weigh about 80 pounds. For a 160 pound male, 4 beers in one hour will have you blowing a 0.076.

(See http://www.uwec.edu/counsel/pubs/skillDrinkM.htm for the chart.)

Drink 4-12 oz beers in an hour, find a dirt bike and a field, and see how well you ride. Make sure you have a helmet. My guess is you can't ride with any skill, if at all.

If you blow a 0.08 BAC, you deserve a DUI. If you're driving, you're endangering everyone around you. No other way around it. Driving drunk is a selfish, stupid thing.

 

[25850]

three things:



1) we don't know how far over the limit he was. for all we know he was knee-walking smashed.



2) like it or not, elite racers are spokespersons for their sponsors. that raises the ethics bar. they get big money for behaving; and they get canned when they reflect poorly. everyone knows that. those who are serious about being racers accept it. those with substance abuse problems don't (or can't).



3) are you, ummm, complaining that you were unfairly terminated for getting drunk at a product launch? hmmm. if it makes you feel better i'd get canned, too, if i showed up at a press event drunk.

 

[Double_L]

What if

Let’s imagine for a moment what might have happened if Erion had said the following:

"While we don’t excuse what Anthony has done, we stand behind him and want to help him in any way we can. We are convinced of Anthony’s talent and will keep him on as our rider as long as he is getting treatment for his drinking problem, if that is deemed necessary.

We believe in Anthony Gobert. We feel he can overcome this problem and are confident that he can regain the form that made him one of the best riders in the world."

Don’t you think that would make Erion look like a hero? Also I think that’s what Anthony needs – someone to stand up for him and say, "We’re behind you and we are going to help you get through this."

I gotta believe that would have given Anthony the confidence that he needed to finally get his act together.

We’re so quick to throw someone away because of flaws instead of helping them overcome those flaws. It’s just sad.

I’m rooting for Anthony and hope that some team will give him another chance and stick with him through thick and thin.