Cleveland Indians closer Chris Perez was sentenced to a year of probation and fined $250 after mailing nine ounces of weed to his dog in June, USA Today reports.
Major League Baseball usually opts for treatment in marijuana cases instead of imposing a punishment. The ruling judge in the case, Brian Hagan, admonished Perez, who was also ordered to speak to high school students about drugs, in the courtroom. “You’re highly regarded; kids look up to you,” he said. “But you made a big mistake. I hope that through your efforts you can deter someone else from making that same mistake.”
There has been no clear reason given for why Perez used his dog’s name on the package, but one theory is that he thought if the drugs were intercepted by authorities, he could claim plausible deniability, since his name was not on the package.