Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler was arrested for drunk driving in Rhode Island earlier this month.
Butler, 34, was arrested March 16 after a trooper saw his vehicle blocking traffic, North Providence police revealed Tuesday.
The trooper said he saw a white Mercedes Benz stopped and blocking traffic on the highway, 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” from his breath.
Butler was also said to be “sweating profusely” and had “extremely slurred and delayed speech along with very bloodshot, watery eyes,” according to the police report obtained by WBZ-TV.
Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler arrested for drunk driving in Rhode Island this month
Butler, 34, was arrested March 16 after a trooper saw his vehicle blocking traffic.
When the officer asked Butler if he had been drinking, the former NFL star responded, “Take me to jail.”
Butler reportedly refused field sobriety tests and was arrested before the tow truck took away his car. He also subsequently refused to take a breathalyzer test when he was later at the police station, the report added.
The Texas native is due 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 Butler had “violated” his Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and 14th Amendment rights under the Constitution.
“I think he wasn’t driving when they pulled him over,” Harwood told the station. “He was off the road and the fact that he wasn’t driving tells me that at least he was being responsible.”
The arrest came just six days after Butler announced his retirement from the NFL after 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 made a historic game-saving interception against the Seattle Seahawks to secure the Patriots’ victory 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 trailing 28-24 with less than 30 seconds left, Seattle coach Pete Carroll made one of the most controversial plays in NFL history when he opted for a pass at the line of one yard instead of a handoff to star running back Marshawn Lynch.
Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson threw a slant pass to wide receiver Ricardo Lockette, which Butler expertly read and controlled his man’s hip to the ground as he grabbed the ball for an interception.
It was a game-sealing play that earned the Patriots their fourth title in franchise history.
Butler was also a part of the team’s Super Bowl LI title, where he made two tackles.
Butler became a free agent after the Patriots’ Super Bowl loss the following year, signing a five-year, $61 million contract with the Tennessee Titans.
Butler’s heroics in Super Bowl XLIX led to an upset in Super Bowl LII, when he was benched.
After being benched, Butler signed a five-year contract 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 2021 before initially retiring in August.
After a year off, Butler returned to New England and signed a two-year contract in March 2022. The Patriots placed him on injured reserve in mid-August before releasing him nine days later.
He attempted to return later that season through a workout with the Miami Dolphins. Butler tried to return to the NFL again last season after working out with the Atlanta Falcons. None of the training resulted in a contract.