TRISTAN WIRFS ARRESTED FOR OWI

Just a few days after learning Iowa defensive tackle Brady Reiff drunkenly mistook a police car for his cab home, news struck that another Iowa lineman had his own altercation with the law:

On its face, we didn’t know much about the incident. The University released an information-free news drop on the matter:

University of Iowa football student-athlete Tristan Wirfs was cited for Operating While Under the Influence in Iowa City early Sunday morning.

“While we are currently gathering additional facts, I am disappointed in Tristan’s decision making based on the information that’s already been confirmed,” said Gary Barta, the Henry B. and Patricia B. Tippie Director of Athletics Chair. “He is subject to the rules and regulations of the UI Student-Athlete Code of Conduct, and the rules and regulations of coach Kirk Ferentz and his program.”

Then 24 hours passed, and we learned Wirfs was pulled over at 1:43 AM Sunday on Riverside Dr. His BAC was a .129 ... while driving a moped.

He wasn’t alone, either. Wirfs had two passengers on his moped (those things are tiny already, and Wirfs is a big boy) and the trio apparently had bar wristbands on.

So, it appears Wirfs broke what’s known as the Peter Jok rule, where an athlete should never, ever ride a moped around campus during strange hours — regardless of the amount of alcohol in your system. The police look for any reason to pull one over in that situation.

That isn’t an excuse, however. Driving intoxicated is very dumb, and doing so while on a moped with two passengers is even more foolhardy. Wirfs is lucky everyone walked away from the incident just fine.

I’m not going to speculate what kind of discipline Wirfs is facing from the football program. Missing one game is all but a certainty, after that it’s a matter between he and Kirk.

We’ll keep you updated as we learn more.