Eager to prove that they can live up to the standard of drunken debauchery set by their more high-profile peers in the football and men's basketball programs, the Iowa wrestling team added an entry to the police blotter early Tuesday morning, as rising junior Montell Marion was arrested on a drunk driving charge.
According to a University of Iowa Department of Public Safety criminal complaint, Montell T. Marion, 22, of 20 Lincoln Ave., No. 27, was spotted traveling west on Washington Street from Clinton Street, which is reserved for bus and bike traffic, at 2:16 a.m. Marion's birthday is May 3.
Police said Marion’s vehicle was also missing the front license plate and he failed to use a turn signal when he turned on to Madison Street.
The arresting officer reported that Marion smelled of ingested alcohol and admitted to drinking. Marion failed his field sobriety tests and registered a blood-alcohol content of .151, nearly twice the legal limit of .08 to operate a motor vehicle in Iowa.
Now, sure, we can sympathize with Marion a little -- anyone who hasn't taken that shortcut on Washington Street at least once is a damn liar and, hey, who's gonna begrudge a guy going out and getting a little blotto on his birthday? Certainly not the BHGP braintrust. That said, taking the Washington Street shortcut at two in the morning is a bad idea. Doing it while drunk is a worse idea. And doing it while your coach is noted hard-ass Tom Brands and when you've already had a few other run-ins with Johnny Law (he's been charged with public intox and willful injury in the past) is the worst of ideas.
At present, Marion is suspended indefinitely. Considering that Brands doesn't condone much foolishness and that Marion has spent some time in his doghouse in the past, the best case scenario is probably one that still involves him missing half the season next winter. As he is not only a returning starter, but also the national runner-up at 141 lbs., that would certainly be a significant blow to what's already going to be a very young and inexperienced team.