ESPN’s Matt Barnaby Fired for DWI
ESPN hockey analyst Matthew Barnaby was arrested for drunk driving erratically in Buffalo Monday, and the sports network subsequently fired him as a result.
Less than 24 hours after the news became public, ESPN released a statement, and said it had “terminated its contract with Barnaby, effective immediately."
The troubled 38-year-old was all over the road Sunday night, which attracted the attention of a fellow driver. The unknown driver followed Barnaby’s badly damaged Porsche Cayenne SUV while reporting the unpredictable behavior. Soon after, police caught up with the intoxicated former Buffalo Sabre and booked him for DWI.
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Erie County Sherriff Capt. Ron Kenyon said the driver spotted the SUV driving without a front tire on Transit Road in Amerherst around 3 a.m.
"The same caller… reported that it was an SUV swerving side to side, and that it was missing a front tire driving on the rim," said the police captain to WGRZ-TV.
When authorities caught up to Barnaby over two miles later, he was cooperative in being ushered out of the destroyed Porsche, but refused to have a breathalyzer administered, resulting in an automatic revocation of his license.
“He was removed from the vehicle, he was cooperative, standard field sobriety tests were administered to Mr. Barnaby - which he failed - and he was arrested at 3:17 am for driving while intoxicate,” said Capt. Kenyon.
This is not Barnaby’s first run-in with the law. On the contrary, he is all too familiar with legal precedents from being charged with criminal mischief, trespassing, harassment, contempt, and aggravated harassment in a domestic dispute with his ex-wife this past May.
In the incident earlier this year, the Canadian-born sports analyst did not hurt anyone, but was still charged with 500 hours of community service. In addition, Barnaby was given a one-year adjournment in contemplation of dismissal, which means the charges would disappear if he stayed out of trouble for a year.
Now that Barnaby has been arrested, this is a problem.
Erie County District Attorney Frank Sedita revealed the gravity of the situation: “By virtue of this arrest, the defendant has put his adjournment in contemplation of dismissal in jeopardy.”
