Vikings player jailed for failed alcohol tests

Published 9:42 pm Tuesday, June 27, 2017

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — An Arizona judge has ordered Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Michael Floyd to serve one day in jail for failing alcohol tests that he blames on a type of fermented tea.

Floyd and his lawyer did not attend the Scottsdale City Court hearing and had a teleconference with Judge Statia Hendrix.

The hearing was meant to give Floyd the chance to make his case regarding the failed alcohol tests and another one he missed earlier this month, which stemmed from a 2016 drunken driving arrest where Scottsdale police say they found him passed out behind the wheel.

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Vikings officials said they encouraged Floyd to drink a fermented tea called kombucha he says was the reason he was flagged for drinking alcohol and violating terms of his house arrest.

Floyd pleaded guilty on Feb. 17 to extreme drunken driving. Police said they found Floyd passed out behind the wheel on Dec. 12. He had a blood-alcohol level of 0.217, more than 2 1/2 times the legal limit in Arizona

Hendrix ordered Floyd start his additional jail time Monday evening in Phoenix before concluding his final five days of house arrest.