Breaking News: Western Kentucky University's Football Defensive Coordinator, Lance Guidry, Arrested In Louisiana For Driving While Intoxicated After LSU Win.

WKU assistant arrested for DWI

Western Kentucky defensive coordinator Lance Guidry was arrested early Saturday morning for driving while intoxicated on College Drive, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

Guidry, 40, a native of Welsh, La., was booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on one count each of second-offense DWI and improper lane usage, the affidavit says.

Guidry was previously arrested for DWIs on April 1, 1990, and Sept. 12, 2003, according to the affidavit, though it does not say where those arrests took place.

WKU head coach Willie Taggart had no comment when asked twice about Guidry after the game.

Western Kentucky senior associate athletic director Todd Stewart said Guidry coached for Western Kentucky in Saturday’s game against LSU in Tiger Stadium. Stewart said the university would have no further comment.

Guidry was booked by Baton Rouge Police officers at 2:51 a.m. Saturday, parish prison records show, after he was pulled over by officers in the 2400 block of College Drive at 1:03 a.m., the affidavit says.

Officers noticed Guidry swerve his right side tires onto the center white lines twice and his left tires onto the center yellow lines on Constitution Avenue twice, the affidavit says.

An officer pulled Guidry over and put him through a field sobriety test, which Guidry performed poorly, the affidavit says.

Guidry registered a 0.123 blood alcohol content, the affidavit says.

A 1995 graduate of McNeese State, Guidry is in his first season at Western Kentucky after spending the past two seasons as defensive backs coach at Miami (Ohio). Guidry spent two coaching stints at McNeese State, two at Carencro High School (where he was head coach from 2005-07) and one at Leesville High School.

Guidry is the father of McNeese State defensive back Janzen Jackson, a former LSU commitment who transferred to McNeese before the start of this season after being dismissed at Tennessee.

Update:

Statements from Defensive Coordinator Lance Guidry, Head Coach Willie Taggart and Director of Athletics Ross Bjork appear below:

DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR LANCE GUIDRY

“I would like to apologize to my family, our players, coaching staff, administration and fans for the undue attention my poor judgment has caused. Our football team put forth a tremendous effort against the nation's top ranked team, and I have done a disservice to our entire program by shifting the focus away from where it belongs. I accept full responsibility and the consequences for my actions. I can assure everyone associated with our program that I have learned from this and it will never happen again. I will do everything in my power to gain back the trust and confidence from those I have let down. It is an honor and a privilege to be a Hilltopper, and I will prove that more than ever moving forward.”




HEAD COACH WILLIE TAGGART

“When Coach Guidry informed me of his arrest, it was disappointing on many levels. We take tremendous pride in doing everything in our program the right way and we welcome that responsibility. Coach Guidry was away from our team hotel viewing high school games so he could evaluate firsthand the players we are recruiting. It is standard practice on road trips for a member of our coaching staff to attend high school games. Coach Guidry is from Louisiana, and after his duties were completed, he then met up with a friend at a restaurant near our hotel. While Coach Guidry did not miss any meetings or functions while he was away from our team hotel, his conduct was certainly not consistent with our value system and how we must operate. He understands the seriousness of his actions, and he and I spoke to our entire team about this before we left the stadium last night. This type of conduct is not acceptable, there will be disciplinary measures as a result, and they will be handled internally. Our football team is a family, and families stick together during challenging times. We have two very important games remaining, and our program will be focused on finishing the season strong and reaching our goal of winning a Sun Belt Conference championship.”



DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS ROSS BJORK

“I am personally disappointed in Lance’s actions during our trip to Baton Rouge. Lance is a great football coach and has brought great energy to our team and defense since he arrived. He knows better of his responsibilities as a public figure. On Saturday morning at the team hotel, Lance requested a meeting with Coach Taggart and I during which he informed us of the specifics of his arrest. Right away, Lance was very forthcoming, remorseful and accepted total responsibility for his actions. His story matched that of the public police report and the incident indeed happened after he was visiting with a friend at a restaurant near the team hotel.



“In terms of Saturday's game, we assessed all of our options and felt it was in the best interest of our student-athletes to have Lance coach them against LSU. Removing Lance from the sideline would have been a detriment to our players who have worked so hard to be in this competitive position so late in the season. Lance’s punishment should not be at the expense of our student-athletes. Because of Lance’s contriteness and honesty after the arrest and the information we gathered, it was decided that he would coach the game.



“When all university employees are hired, outsourced criminal background checks are performed over the previous five to seven years and no past history was discovered when Lance was hired in early 2011. This is a matter we take very seriously, and moving forward we have formulated disciplinary measures with Lance that will be handled internally. We have high standards for our staff and coaches, and there are no excuses for wrongdoing of this type. Unfortunately, mistakes are a part of life, and how you deal with them will determine much about the future and how we all make decisions as a leader. Lance owned this mistake from the moment we became aware of it, and he understands as a public figure the standards are different from others. I am convinced he will learn from this and our team and staff will be focused on the last two games of the regular season as we compete for a championship.”

Editor's comment: Hey man, enough already.

Lay off "the sauce"!

It sure sounds like you have a problem, so check out, and check into, AA.

Though we know who you are, we'll pretend you are anonymous to go with the AA thingy!!