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Provided by copyright (c)1997 Associated Press
TUESDAY 10/28/97  4:55:55
^Defensive back pleads no contest to DUI, begins 30-day jail
sentence<
   CINCINNATI (AP) _ A severely sprained foot has prevented rookie
defensive back Tremain Mack from playing for the Cincinnati Bengals
the past month.
   He'll be out another month, serving a DUI sentence in the
Clermont County jail.
   Mack, 22, began serving a 30-day jail sentence Monday after
pleading no contest to a charge of drunken driving. He was arrested
by an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper early Saturday morning east
of Cincinnati.
   Officer N.J. Holden said Mack was driving 82 mph in a 65 mph
zone of Interstate 275, and that Mack registered 0.18 percent blood
alcohol in a Breathalyzer test. In Ohio, a person is considered
drunk at 0.10 blood alcohol.
   Mack, who was charged with speeding, DUI and driving with a
suspended license, appeared Monday in Clermont Municipal Court. He
pleaded no contest to the drunk driving charge and was found
guilty, said Tim Rudd, assistant court clerk.
   Judge James Shriver fined Mack $1,000 on the DUI charge,
sentenced him to 180 days in the county jail in Batavia and put him
on reporting probation for three years, Rudd said. Shriver
suspended 150 days of the jail sentence.
   Mack was fined another $1,000 for driving under suspension, and
was sentenced to 180 days, but the judge suspended the jail
sentence. There was no entry for the speeding charge, Rudd said.
   Mack was a standout at the University of Miami when he was
drafted in the fourth round this spring. He was the Bengals'
starter at strong safety when he suffered the sprain Sept. 28
against the New York Jets. He was not expected to play this Sunday
against the San Diego Chargers.
   Rudd said the arresting officer's report indicated that Mack
asked for leniency, saying he feared being cut by the Bengals. The
team declined to comment on Mack's case.
   ``Alcohol-related offenses by players are under the jurisdiction
of the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NFL and the
Players Association,'' Bengals president Mike Brown said in a
statement released by a spokesman Monday night.
   ``If an offense is found to have occurred, any fines or
suspensions will be determined in accordance with that agreement.
News of any disciplinary action against a player would come to us
through the league office.''
   Rudd said that Mack, who is from Tyler, Texas, acknowledged in
court that he had two DUIs pending in Texas, which is why his Texas
driver's license had been suspended.
   Mack also was arrested in Florida last year and charged with
driving under the influence of alcohol.