WR Fisher Arrested

[Bull94]

I'm sure there are plenty of student-athletes with kids in the same situation. How could they afford to pay support when going to school full time and competing in athletics(no time left to work). The state or federal government needs to step in and loan people (athletes or not) support payments while going to college. Something similar to a student loan. They need to be going to school full time and 6 months after they graduate or stop going to school then they have to start paying back the loans. They are trying to improve their situation by going to school in the first place (at least they should be). They should earn more money in the future with a college degree and should be able to provide their children with a better life. I bet he could make his payments if he were working at mcdonald's full time but where would that get him or his kids in the future.

[Markeymark]

NOPE-- my problem with this entire situation is the government. How do they figure that a guy like Fisher can afford this money in the first place?

I don't know - why don't we ask Fisher how he thought he would be able to support them - oh wait, he probably didn't think that through before he knocked up those girls. That's not the government's fault, it's Fisher's fault and he needs to accept responsibility for his own actions, that comes before football or college.

[Velcro]

Other than being arrested, how do you assume you know EVERYTHING about what is going on in his life? You ASSUME he has no contact with these kids. You ASSUME he does nothing to support them at all.

Yes we are assuming.

You also assume he has been acting irresponsibly SIMPLY BECAUSE HE GOT A GIRL PREGNANT. Were you there? Do you know, FOR A FACT, that he had unprotected sex? Or that the girls lied to him about being on the pill? Or any of a handful of other things that happened like the condem breaking/being defective. Who knows what led to the whole thing in the first place-- and who are we to judge this person?

I find the reaction more high school'ish than anything else.

Does it matter whether he meant to get her pregnant or not, does it matter whether the condom broke etc etc... no.  No matter how it happened, he has a responsibility to those kids, both as a father figure and a financial responsibility... there is no debating that.

The way the laws are setup, he has failed to pay 17k, for whatever reason.

You can argue that the system is to blame, fine, but just because the system sucks, doesn't make him any less to blame.

I doubt his intent was to get the girls pregnant and your entire argument is based on the feeling that he didn't act responsibly enough to avoid the situation. He didn't think-- oh god-- a young person who made a mistake. Shall I erect the bonfire so we can burn him mercilessly and without a second of self-reflection? He's got a lot of time to make amends for anything he's done.

He can fix the problem... its in his court.  It might take time, but it can be done.

Who knows-- he may be the best thing that ever happened to those kids (and may be that right now). What several people here have said his "dead beat dad" status ASSUMES yet again that he is not a part of these kids lives. That's not always how it works. The state mandates that if you want child welfare, you MUST name the father of the child. The state uses this to start a bill with the father to pay for the child whether they have the means or not. So to get money they needed, Fisher et al submitted to this situation (who knows how willingly this occurred-- no one has said jack about how he is handling this-- just assumptions). That money reached a magic number that made the state try to find this "dead beat dad"-- you know-- the one THEY created by making him responsible for covering their outlay. While I agree that he has to pony up money-- what is better LONG TERM for the kid-- a dad who has a college degree /possible chance at professional athelete--- or someone who gets thrown into the workforce, untrained and with a dim future at best?

Again, the system is there... if it needs to be changed, someone should attempt to get it changed, but the rule is there, no matter how good or bad it is, and the 17k is no ones responsibility but BF's.

It's almost a setup-- they don't care if you don't make any money and they hide behind the "in the best interest of the child" BS line when they can. It should be a deterant to this situation but to me it just seems to be trap. It keeps poor people who make bad decisions stuck being poor all too often.

Note: If you actually have a job-- it will cost you up to 1/2 your pay-- regardless of the amount-- for 18 years. As your pay increases-- so does the amount you pay.

It does suck... but  : .... again...

The fact is you are making hasty judgements based on a few facts that were presented in a news article. What business is it of ours to do this? I don't mind talking about the dead beat dad situation, but there are those who deserve the title and others who just don't have the ability to pay. Let's just lock everyone up who can't pay-- that's a great solution-- since it will only cost twice as much to incarcerate someone as it would to give the money direct to support the child. No easy answers here but the way it gets handled just seems ass backwards to me.

I don't buy not having the ability to pay... fine he can't pay 17000 now... but he could have found a way to pay for the monthly payments.  its not like this 17k just fell on his lap... it accumulated over time.

[smazza]

he clearly received bad legel advice prior to support order being entered.

i do agree with most of what mikeg says.

locking kids up for not paying is insane too me

situation should not have gone this far

[dabull80]

Here here Mike G.  You have hit the nail on the head.  We don't know the facts here and everyone has rushed to judgement.  Hell, we didn't need any UCF trash talkers because enough of our own have done it to one of our players.  And by the way we all know for a fact that these kids are his and that the court is right.  I just hope that most people here are wrong and Brian is a stand up guy.

[Velcro]

I hope the court (and "most people") is (are) wrong too...

it is all to be determined of course...

[smazza]

don't they give condoms away free at heath clinic at USF

they did in my day

did fisher at least get bailed out?

sheriff- you are too funny man

[Velcro]

Fisher bailed himself out... $500ish bucks

[Velcro]

My assumption, yes assumption, is that they are his.  If they aren't, he better get the situation fixed, as tough as that might be.

I do agree some type of loan system would work out except i dont' see where the money would be coming from in the first place.  

[Markeymark]

Mikeg -

You are right, we don't know all the facts and probably will never know all the facts other than what surfaces in the media and public information

You are simply looking to the government as the big bad evil in this situation, and that's not exactly accurate. First of all, he got two different girls pregnant (reportedly, if we are to believe the media's accuracy.) I like to recall the old adage - fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. He's either stupid or irresponsible, take your pick.

The fact that he owes so much money is another sign that he didn't make the full effort required to square his debts. Granted, the courts are often biased in favor of the single mom, but still it's not a small amount that we're talking about. If it got to the point where he's getting arrested then I really doubt he's "dad of the year"material.

It's funny you mention high-schoolish reaction, because that is precisely the type of thing we're talking about...the failure to act like an adult and take responsibility for one's actions. If nothing else, (and that's a big IF) the failure to make good on a large debt is a clear indication of this.

And as far as getting a college education, there are people who work 40+ hours, support kids AND find the time to study and get a degree. It is possible - provided you are motivated to do the right thing in supporting your family. I really don't have any sympathy for anyone who goes off to play college football instead of paying off debts of this nature.

Ordered by the Escambia County court in 2001 to make weekly payments of $69.50 to Primm and $48 to McWilliams until each child turns 18, Fisher has not made a payment to either woman, an Escambia County child support spokeswoman said.