Better judgement

When you've got a baseball scholarship to Arizona State, you have got to use better judgement.
Going around shooting out windows and a male pedestrian with a pellet gun, as alleged, may sound like a silly prank. But being arrested for vandalism, assault and driving under the influence is serious.
Could this jeopardize Pacific Grove graduate Abe Ruiz's scholarship? Probably not. I mean, do you strip an athlete of his future because of ONE stupid, teenage mistake?
But now the 18-year-old Ruiz has a big strike against him, along with Ian Hesse, who will play football this season at Monterey Peninsula College, after piling up over 1,800 rushing yards last year at Pacific Grove.
Hesse was The Herald's Offensive Football Player of the Year while Ruiz was our Baseball Player of the Year. In my encounters with each of them, they're polite and respectful young men. It almost seems out of character.
Alcohol has a way of changing people's perspective - at any age.
Lets be honest. There are far worse offenses. But it was a stupid act. Prosecutors have filed court charges. There will be a price to pay.
Hopefully a lesson was learned.