UO Ducks football player Marcus Mariota got a speeding ticket. And paid his fine, the R-G reports. Not only is he good with the law now. He’s good with God.
Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota on Thursday quickly put a speeding ticket behind him, pleading “no contest” to the traffic violation and paying off a $260 fine, according to Lane County Circuit Court records.
Mariota, 21, could have asked a judge to reduce the penalty he faced after a state trooper ticketed him during the early morning hours of Nov. 12 for driving 80 mph in a 55-mph zone on Highway 126W near Veneta.
Speeding is news when you’re up for a Heisman trophy. And when other Ducks sports stars caught speeding have said things like, “We smoked it all.”
But Mariota is OK because not only did he win the R-G‘s approbation for paying off the ticket, and the state trooper said he was polite and respectful, but also televangelist Pat Robertson says speeding is not a sin — so take a deep breath Mariota, you are good with God, even at 80 mph.
“Is it a sin? I think it’s a sin to hurt somebody. I think it’s a sin to drive recklessly … If your driving imperils other people, you are sinning, there’s no question about it. But in an open stretch of road, you go to Texas, I think some areas, there’s no speed limit at all. There are times when police do pick you up, but I better not say any more. But the whole idea of traffic — it is… sin or not sin — it is to regulate the flow of traffic to keep people from hurting each other.”
h/t The Oregonian for the Robertson info.