Stetson Bennett Arrested for Public Intoxication in Dallas

If you thought the only college football news you’d read this week was early notes on next year’s Heisman favorites, then boy do I have a curveball to throw at you.

While most of the football betting world is getting ready for the NFL conference championships, news broke out of Texas on Sunday morning that Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett had been arrested.

Stetson Bennett Arrest Details

Two-time national champion Stetson Bennett was arrested for public intoxication in Dallas on the morning of Sunday, January 29. 

The short version of events goes something like this: Bennett was drunk in Old East Dallas and loudly banging on doors in the area, so someone called the police. (He wasn’t identified as Bennett until later.)

When the police arrived, they identified him as clearly intoxicated, and so they placed him under arrest for public intoxication.

What Is Public Intoxication?

It’s pretty much exactly what it sounds like. If you’re in a public space and causing any kind of harm or disturbance due to drug or alcohol use, you can be charged with public intoxication. 

According to the Texas penal code: 

“A person commits an offense if the person appears in a public place while intoxicated to the degree that the person may endanger the person or another.

(a-1) For the purposes of this section, a premises licensed or permitted under the Alcoholic Beverage Code is a public place.

(b)  It is a defense to prosecution under this section that the alcohol or other substance was administered for therapeutic purposes and as a part of the person’s professional medical treatment by a licensed physician.

(c)  Except as provided by Subsection (e), an offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.”

In Texas, Class C misdemeanors are punishable with a fine of up to $500, which is likely what Bennett will need to pay to resolve this issue.

Stetson Bennett: NFL Draft Effects

Stetson Bennett – a former Georgia walk-on who played his way into the starting job – was already a classic overachieving college quarterback. The 25-year-old ranks as a marginal NFL prospect at best.

That was before this issue in Dallas, which is only going to add to the questions about whether or not NFL franchises will be willing to spend draft capital on him.

Most of us who attended some kind of four-year university either have a story like this or know someone else who does. A citation for public intoxication, just three weeks after winning a second national championship for Georgia, is not exactly a capital crime.

Still, it’s going to be yet another obstacle that Bennett will need to overcome if he wants to cash an NFL paycheck at some point in the next year.