Lawyer Milloy has first practice after arrest

Flowery Branch — Falcons safety Lawyer Milloy spent his first full day with the team since his early Monday arrest on charges of driving under the influence and speeding.

“I think I need to be here,” Milloy said Wednesday. “It’s been tough just sitting at home thinking about everything. Once I got here and seen my teammates, I think they realize that they need to be here for me like I’d be there for them.”

Before Wednesday, Milloy had stopped by the building briefly to meet with Falcons coach Mike Smith.

According to the police report, Milloy was driving 77 miles per hour in a 55 mph zone and had an alcohol blood level of .141.

“I apologized Monday to my teammates,” Milloy said. “I tried to explain to them everything that went on, that it was a real situation.

“If it could happen to me that it could happen to anybody, and what I was dealing with, my true feelings. That’s what I was doing Monday.

“Then I went home and tried to explain to my family.”

Milloy said he didn’t want to make any excuses for his arrest.

“There are no buts. I’m sincerely apologetic about every thing that happened after the Tampa Bay game that Monday,” Milloy said. “I’m sorry for my family, Mr. [Arthur] Blank, Coach Smith, Thomas Dimitroff and our fans.”

Milloy’s arrest was troubling to the team because he’s the unquestioned leader with a roster full of young players. He’s also the team’s leading tackler through two games.

“Since I’ve been here, I think I’ve lead the right way on and off the field,” Milloy said. “I’ve tried to, and I’m going to continue doing that.”

Milloy doesn’t believe his arrest will affect his ability to be a leader on the team.

“We’ve got a lot of young players here, and I’ve been trying to lead by example,” Milloy said. “That’s what I told them in this case, but this wasn’t all positive and that’s it. They said they’d rally behind me. They had a lot of encouraging words for me.”

Defensive end John Abraham reached out to Milloy.

“I’ve talked to him about it,” Abraham said. “I went through a situation myself, so I know how it is. I just told him to do the right things from now on, and he’ll be OK.

“He’s a grown man. He’s going to handle it. Everybody makes mistakes in life, but it’s all about how you get it turned around. I think he’s going to handle it.”

Milloy took part in the team’s practice.

“I thought it was a great practice, not just for Lawyer but for all of our guys,” Smith said.

Milloy is set to make a base salary of $1.7 million this season, the last season of a three-year contract he signed with the Falcons in March 2006.

“I’ve got 14 weeks left here,” said Milloy, who has talked about wanting to end his career with his hometown Seattle Seahawks, a team that will be coached next season by former Falcons coach Jim Mora.

“I’m going to keep doing what I’ve been doing the first two weeks, just lead by example on the field. Use this to help me get through this.”