Malcolm Butler, Super Bowl XLIX hero, ‘arrested for drunk driving in Rhode Island’, telling police ‘just take me to jail’ – just six days after the former Patriots cornerback announced his retirement from the NFL
Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler was arrested for drunk driving in Rhode Island earlier this month.
Butler, 34, was arrested on March 16 after a patrolman saw his vehicle blocking traffic, North Providence police revealed Tuesday.
The Patrolman said he saw a white Mercedes Benz stopped and blocking traffic on the road, according to WBZ-TV.
The driver was identified as the former New England Patriots cornerback, who is said to have a ‘strong odor of alcoholic beverage’ coming off his breath.
Butler is also said to have been ‘sweating profusely’ and had ‘extremely slurred and delayed speech along with severely bloodshot watery eyes,’ according to the police report obtained by WBZ-TV.
Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler was arrested for drunk driving in Rhode Island this month
Butler, 34, was arrested on March 16 after a patrolman saw his vehicle blocking traffic
When the officer asked Butler if he had been drinking, the former NFL star reportedly responded: ‘Just take me to jail.’
Butler is said to have refused sobriety tests and was arrested before his car was towed away. He also later refused to take a breathalyzer test when he was later at the police station, the report adds.
The Texas native is due to appear in court on March 28 but his attorney, former Rhode Island House Speaker John Harwood, told WPRI-TV in Providence that he filed a motion to dismiss or suppress the charge.
He claimed that Butler had his Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and 14th Amendment rights under the Constitution ‘violated.’
‘I think when they stopped him he wasn’t driving,’ Harwood told the station. ‘He was off the road, and that he wasn’t driving tells me at least he was being responsible.’
The arrest took place just six days after Butler announced his retirement from the NFL following seven seasons in the league.
He spent four of those seasons in New England, where he wrote himself into Super Bowl folklore, after signing with the Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2014.
Butler went on to make a historic game-saving interception against the Seattle Seahawks to clinch a win for the Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX.
Butler made a historic game-saving interception against the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX
With the clock winding down and the Seattle Seahawks down 28-24 with under 30 seconds to go, Seattle coach Pete Carroll called one of the most controversial plays in NFL history when he opted for a pass on the one-yard-line instead of a handoff to star running back Marshawn Lynch.
Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson tossed a slant pass for wide receiver Ricardo Lockette – which Butler read expertly and hip-checked his man to the ground while grabbing the ball for an interception.
It was a game-sealing play that earned the Patriots their fourth title in franchise history.
Butler was also part of the team’s Super Bowl LI title – where he made two tackles.
Butler became a free agent after the Patriots’ loss in the following year’s Super Bowl – signing a five-year, $61million deal with the Tennessee Titans.
Butler’s Super Bowl XLIX heroics gave way to shock in Super Bowl LII – when he was benched
After the benching, Butler signed a five-year deal with Tennessee. He was cut after three years.
He only lasted three seasons with the Titans – playing 41 games in the regular season and one game in the playoffs before being released.
Butler then signed a one-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals in March of 2021 before initially retiring that August.
After a year off, Butler returned to New England – signing a two year deal in March of 2022. The Patriots placed him on injured reserve in mid-August before releasing him nine days later.
He attempted a comeback later that season via a workout with the Miami Dolphins. Butler tried again to return to the NFL last season after working out with the Atlanta Falcons. Neither workout resulted in a contract.
