David Diehl, offensive lineman, of the Super Bowl champion New York Giants, was arrested on June 10 on suspicion of drunk driving. Diehl was watching his native country, Croatia, play Ireland in a European Championship tournament game at a local bar in Astoria. During the game Diehl celebrated at the Scorpio Bar & Grill at 35-15 Broadway with some close friends. After Croatia’s three win over Ireland, Diehl left the bar and headed home. Not five blocks from the bar, at about 8:20 p.m. the Giants’ starter crashed into several parked cars in his black BMW and the police arrived almost immediately. He was driving alone when the accident happened and no one was injured during the crash.
Police arrested Diehl after failing a Breathalyzer test when he blew a .18, which is much higher than the legal driving limit of .08. As we go to press, the Giants have yet to comment on the situation and his agent, Peter Schaffer, also declined to comment but noted that Diehl is one of the classiest Giants ballplayers ever.
The offensive lineman has two seasons left on his contract with the Giants, which originally began in 2008. This offense is in violation of the NFL’s substance abuse policy and he could be facing some sort of suspension and, or fine. Since this is his first recorded offense, the speculation is that a suspension is very unlikely and he may just be fined. Formal charges are pending for this week and the NFL board of commissions will also be reviewing the incident this week. It is expected that Diehl will be charged with DWI. The charges might be updated to include damage to the parked cars at his arraignment in Queens Criminal Court on Monday June 11.