MOTOCROSS - J-Law Arrested, Suspended For Red Bud
By Shan Moore
The AMA will make a decision next week on Jason Lawrence's future. 7/5/2008
As if he didn’t have enough problems already, Yamaha of Troy’s Jason Lawrence was arrested for disorderly conduct while at Red Bud Track N Trail on the evening of July 4th, and released the following morning from the Berrien County Jail on $100 bail. Lawrence was at Red Bud Track N Trail for round six of the AMA Toyota Motocross Series when an alleged fight broke out between Lawrence and another person, ending in Lawrence’s arrest. This coming just three weeks after an incident at Freestone Country Raceway in Texas where Lawrence rolled his mechanic’s rental car in the parking lot. Lawrence was put on probation by the AMA for the rental car incident and was given a $25,000 suspended fine which the AMA said would be dropped if Lawrence stayed clean for the rest of the year. According to the AMA’s Jeff Canfield, Lawrence was suspended from the weekend’s race and, according to Canfield, ‘the AMA will be issuing a statement about the incident at the first part of the week.’ When asked about reports that Yamaha had terminated Lawrence’s contract, Team Yamaha’s Jim Perry said that Lawrence was under contract with Yamaha of Troy and not Yamaha and so it would be Yamaha of Troy’s responsibility to act on the situation. “I’m sure the AMA will suspend him for a while and collect the $25,000 fine,” said Perry. Yamaha of Troy team manager Chris McAvoy would not comment on the situation other than to say that a press release would be issued this week.
I want to start out by apologizing to everyone at RedBud, my team at Yamaha of Troy and the entire MX industry on what not only happened this past weekend, but also for the rest of the crap I’ve been involved with this past year.
Things are pretty much rock bottom for me right now. I was on top of the world when I won the Western Lites title a couple months ago and now I’m sitting here feeling like crap. I’ve got my side of the story regarding what went down at RedBud, yeah, but there’s no sense in telling it. The simple answer is I put myself into a situation that I shouldn’t have been in and because of that I’ve let a bunch of people down.
I’ve run into some problems away from the track that have affected my results and it’s become apparent that I’ve got to address them. I am taking action to deal with these issues and to make sure incidents like what happened this past weekend don’t occur again. I’m calling on people that have been there with me through thick and thin, relying on them to help me with my problems and get me on back on track as I’ve come to realize these are things I can’t handle myself.
Motocross is my life. I love the sport and don’t know where I’d be without it. And being a champion I’m constantly in the spotlight and my every move – good or bad – is discussed and debated online and in the press. It’s a lot to handle and, in all honesty, I’ve had a bad year dealing with it.
But that’s going to change. I am going to try to turn this into positive and use this opportunity to fix the things that are causing these problems in the first place.
Again, I’m extremely sorry for my actions. To guys like my agent, Scott Sepkovic, and to Scott Paul, who owns Yamaha of Troy. Also, to Chris McAvoy, my team manager, and Keith McCarty at Yamaha, plus my mom and all the guys at the AMA who’ve had to put up with my behavior, I’m sorry. Very, very sorry.
But most of all I want to apologize to my fans. If I’d have bought a ticket to see my favorite guy race at RedBud and he got kicked off the property for getting in a fight the day before I’d be mad as hell. So to all my fans and fans of motocross in general, I’m going to take the extra step to make sure we’re cool again. I promise to make amends to you guys because there’s nothing better than seeing you pumped up when I’m doing well – and still having my back when I’m not doing so well, like right now.
I’m not making any excuses. I screwed up good this past weekend and I’m prepared to do what it takes to get back where I was when I won the supercross title. I’m no angel and never will be. But what I will be is responsible for my actions, take the right measures to correct things and learn from my mistakes.
One of the things that sticks out in his public apology is how he believes his fans and sponsers have his back. He is so wrong what fuking planet is he on! It's tough to get those sponsers the have conduct clauses in their contracts. People aren't running to Dealers and shops saying I want a bike just Like J-law or I want the same gear as J-law very few riders have ever driven the industry in that sense and very few ever will. At this point in his career he won't ever even come close. In my opinion RP your a fine example of what someone at your level or any level should portray himself to his sponsers and fans. Thank you for who you are and what you bring to the table.
Mike
teem trubble works CR500
(Gen 3 125+CR500 motor)
If I wanted a Yamaha I would have bought a piano!