Former University of Michigan basketball player, NBA player, and current ESPN analyst Jalen Rose was released from Oakland County Jail today after spending 16 days behind bars for drunken driving.
Rose apologized for the DUI and his lawyer said he shouldn't have been jailed.
When he pleaded guilty in May to driving while intoxicated, Rose told District Court Judge Kimberly Small he drank six martinis before crashing his SUV in March along a snowy road in West Bloomfield Township. Small, who is known for coming down hard on drunken drivers, lectured Rose for 15 minutes before delivering her sentence. She told him that jail time was the "right punishment" in his case. Small routinely sends first-time drunken drivers to jail, and has said she believes that sends a message that it is a serious crime. Under Michigan law, first-time drunken driving is a maximum 93-day misdemeanor, but there is no minimum mandatory jail time.
