Second life of the Dabrowa Gornicza player

One moment can change almost everything in life. This was the case of Tavarius Shine, basketball player of MKS Dabrowa Gornicza, who caused a car accident after drink and driving.

Tavarius Shine came to Dabrowa Gornicza after he spent a year in Sweden playing for BC Lulea, his first pro contract after coming out of college. The coaching staff at MKS has high hopes for him, as they see the forward as a potential for a team leader. In the meantime, he nearly had his career wasted away because of one moment of madness.

The player did not have much to drink – the 0,3 in his blood is „only” one beer, one shot or a glass of wine. The only problem was that he decided to sit behind the wheel after having that one drink. He caused a major car accident.

– The man broke three major rules, not only did he drink and drive but he drove without having correct documents allowing to do so in Poland and he was convicted of causing the collision – says Marek Miszczuk from the local police. The American’s car is a write off too and three people got hurt in the process.

These are all private matters but the club has reacted immediately. MKS had suspended the player straight away and it was looking like they would send the player home and cancel the contract. After long talks with the player himself, they decided to give him another, as they said, one last chance. Shine was fined financially, but he is back training with the team and getting ready for the season to start.

In our opinion, people deserve a second chance in life. He has learned a hard lesson and we hope he will reflect on it. Obviously, we don’t condone it as a club and he will be on a constant watch from now on. If any incidents like this one happen again in the future, there will be serious consequences – explains the club’s decision, it’s chairman, Lukasz Zak. What made the club look at this matter a little bit more leniently is the fact that in the United States the legal alcohol limit is higher than in Poland. In some states, it’s 0,8 so more than a double to what he had.

The club’s decision could be seen as noble. They did not have to give Shine another chance, but they did offer him another lifeline. On the other hand, other players can now take this as an example and take advantage of the situation if anything similar ever happens. Whether the decision was good or bad, time will tell, we will find out soon enough after a couple of matches of the Energa Basket Liga.

Getting this matter sorted between the club and the player is one thing, but this will have its repercussions in courts. The player will most likely get a court order and will have to pay a fine of some sort.