Jason Kidd Makes In-Court Plea, Admits to Tequila-Fueled DWI

This article was written by Taylor K. Vecsey. 

Jason Kidd admitted in Southampton Justice Court on Tuesday to having "three or four" tequilas before he got behind the wheel and crashed in Water Mill last July.

Exactly one year and one day after the NBA star turned Brooklyn Nets head coach was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated, Kidd took a deal that will take him from the court to the classroom, speaking to high school students about the dangers of drunken driving. 

"Because of his accomplishments as a professional athlete and his status today as the head coach of the Nets, Mr. Kidd, we believe, is the perfect person to reinforce the important message that we've been getting to across every day of the week and that is: Don't drink and drive at the same time," Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said outside the courthouse in Hampton Bays. 

Kidd pleaded guilty to misdemeanor DWI and received interim probation, which mandate two speaking engagements at local high schools in September. But, the plea is only temporary. If he successfully completes the terms, his record will reflect a lesser conviction of driving while ability impaired, a violation. 

Spota acknowledged that the average driver charged with only misdemeanor DWI would likely received three years of probation. However, he said, "He wasn't let off the hook." Few drivers are subjected to the national embarrassment Kidd has faced, he said.

He expects Kidd to talk to the students about "taking the responsibility for conduct, such as he did today, being a person of honor and integrity and admitting you were wrong, as he did today."

His talks will be recorded and distributed to other high schools that request it, Spota said. 

Raising his right hand, Kidd admitted to drinking three or four tequilas — he said he didn't know the exact amount — before hitting a telephone pole and some trees on Little Cobb Road, not far from his Water Mill house on July 15. 

Kidd has since paid $8,100 in restitution to the Long Island Power Authority. His license, which was suspended after the accident, will remain suspended for 90 days after he officially sentenced, likely on his next court appearance on Sept. 30, Spota said.

Justice Andrea Schiavoni accepted the plea bargain and Kidd's allocution, though she told him he should be happy to be alive. 

"I do not follow basketball," she said to him, adding that when he appeared before her the morning following his accident, she saw him as yet another driver with "cuts and bruises" accused of driving drunk. 

Schiavoni said she felt the same as she always feels at similar proceedings. "I'm really just thankful to have a body to arraign," she said. "You could have killed yourself. You could have killed someone else that night."

The judge said she hoped Kidd would use the opportunity afforded to him to turn a bad situation into a positive one.

Kidd, whose wife joined him at court, appeared with his attorney, Edward Burke Jr., of Sag Harbor, outside of court to address the throngs of media, but he remained silent. 

Burke said his client took responsibility for that night and is looking forward to speaking to students. "We are in a position today to take advantage of a situation, and turn a bad situation much better," Burke said.