Husbands across America have worked out how to watch football without interruptions. Some build a man cave. Some buy a second TV. Some head to a sports bar with a few friends, and the bravest simply ask nicely.
Terry Ward of Richmond, Virginia, allegedly went with tape.
According to police, Ward, 64, taped his wife to a chair in their basement on the night of October 11, then went upstairs and watched the Baltimore Ravens play the Atlanta Falcons by himself.
Richmond police got a call around 11:30 p.m. about a domestic disturbance at the home. When officers arrived, Ward's wife told them her husband "had tied her to a chair with tape in the basement." She said she was left there for 30 to 45 minutes while he watched the game.
Officers saw marks and sticky tape residue on both of her arms.
Then Ward made the officers' jobs easy. According to the criminal complaint, he "stated that he did indeed tied his wife … to a chair and place[d] her down in the basement."
Most people facing a felony would at least try a defense. Ward apparently went straight to a confession.
He's now charged with felony abduction and misdemeanor assault on a family member. In Virginia, abduction is a Class 5 felony, which can carry up to 10 years in prison. His arraignment and bond hearing were postponed, and his next court date is November 10 in Richmond Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court.
It's not clear what Ward thought would happen when the game ended. A second television costs a few hundred dollars and requires no rope, tape, or basement. Headphones cost even less, and so does a seat at a sports bar.
Ward allegedly skipped all of those and committed a felony instead. Now a judge will decide what happens next, and that decision won't go to overtime.
Ward is innocent until proven guilty. But his confession to his ridiculous decision not only landed him in the dog house and the jail house, it’s likely going to end with him in a court house, divorce court and prison cell.
