On Friday, Nick Hogan (born Nick Bollea) was sentenced by a Florida judge for the role he played in an August car crash that left his friend John Graziano, the passenger in the car, critically injured. Bollea, the 17-year-old son of former wrestler Hulk Hogan, pleaded no contest to the charges of reckless driving involving serious bodily injury and was ordered to serve eight months in jail, a probationary period of five years and 500 hours of community service. He must also surrender his driving privileges for three years and complete a DUI school within one year of his release from prison.
In November, Bollea was charged for the August 26 crash in Clearwater, Florida, which left Graziano, a former U.S. Marine, permanently brain-damaged after sustaining a broken skull. According to police, Bollea was driving his Toyota Supra at a high speed in a race against a Dodge Viper when he lost control of the vehicle and slammed into a raised median. The car reportedly flipped over, and the rear of the vehicle collided with a palm tree.
MTV News' readers responded in great numbers over the weekend to the sentencing news, stirring some considerable debate. The public seems to be split on whether the punishment fit the crime, in Bollea's case, but the majority of our readers feel Bollea could have used more time behind bars.
"Yes, it was just," Courtney wrote. "His friend is basically brain dead. He was reckless and practically killed someone. It's a sad situation, no matter what the sentence was."
"I think the punishment fits," Kim agreed. "Nick has had to finally grow up, something his dad did not force upon him. In fact, [Hulk Hogan] actually perpetuated the incident through his chauvinism and egotistical actions."
Some readers maintained that this was just another example of celebrities getting off easy — that Bollea's sentence was a slap on the wrist compared to the lifelong consequences suffered by Graziano, who may never recover from his coma.
"If it was your brother, do you think eight months in jail and no drinking and service time is enough?" WhatEVA asked. "Little Hulkster has lived a charmed life and will continue to live that life. The poor kid that was hurt has his life changed forever and will never have it back. How is this sentence just? Our system is wacked."
"What a freaking joke," Deb commented. "Typical for some one who is famous to get off with a slap on the wrist here. If it was Joe Nobody, they'd have thrown the book at them."
Some called the incident an accident and feel Nick wasn't to blame for what happened to Graziano, because there was no intent behind his actions.
"What all you people fail to realize is, this was an accident," a reader who goes by the handle Mordred said. "It could have happened to anyone. Did Nick Hogan get what he deserved? Yes, he did, when he saw his friend in bed, almost dead, having to deal with all this. Of course, he got his just punishment, right then and there."
"You cannot take back a stupid act, you can only stand up like a man and face the consequences," Glen said. "Everyone in this world has made mistakes — some big, some small. It's how you handle what you have done, and if you learn from it that will define you. There is no correct punishment for this case. Everyone loses, except the media of course."
According to Colleen, "everyone makes mistakes, and people learn from their mistakes." She said she feels the judge should have stopped at community service and probation, and believes "the judge was trying to prove a point, and he did this because Nick was a celebrity."
But NickWasWrong countered that it wasn't just an accident. "An accident is a tire falling off, a tree falling on the road," he wrote. "Drinking, driving and speeding with a passenger at 17 is not an accident. What the hell is he doing drinking at 17, period? The sentence was light in my view. He lucky he's the white son of a celebrity. If he was black, poor, illegal, you clowns would be calling for his death. He needs to be taught a lesson now, while he is still young, about the consequences of his actions. You do the crime, you pay the price. Time to pay up, and I'm sure your well-paid lawyer worked the Hulk angle to get you off easy."
"He was drinking," Dana wrote. "There are no excuses. If he hit somebody you cared about you'd be singing a different tune. What if he hit a car with a little kid in it? Give me a break. His father should snap him in half when he gets out, because eight months for making someone brain dead just isn't enough."
One reader, Phil, said he thinks the sentence was too strict and that "a lot of other people need to be in jail besides this kid." He added that Bollea's sentence is just a waste of taxpayers' money.
"I don't think his sentence is too harsh — look at it this way: His friend could have died, and he would have been charged with involuntary manslaughter," WayWay argued. "Even now, the boy isn't doing good, so I think his jail and probation time is his punishment for the whole thing, but I wish him and his family the best."
A couple of our readers placed part of the blame on Graziano for not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident.
"I am sorry, but the kid got in the seat next to him and did not put his seat belt on," Lauren commented. "He made the choice. I do not think that Nick is responsible. The kid knew what he was getting into. The kid should be held responsible for his actions, not Nick. They are taking advantage of him because he is a celebrity."
Chris agreed, saying, "The whole thing is sad, but to be fair it wasn't entirely Nick's fault his friend got injured. The friend made a choice to get into Nick's car. He knew damn well that Nick was trashed."
NickWasWrong responded to that argument. "It as [Graziano's] fault for getting in the car?" he wrote. "It's like saying that if someone gets shot, it's their fault for getting in the way of the bullet."
One reader named Tommy said he blames Bollea's troubles on his parents. "[Hulk] and Linda Hogan are most at fault here," he said. "With Nick's past driving record, what did they think was going happen? Bad parenting equals bad decisions by their children."
But one reader, David, said he believes the guilt Bollea must be living with is punishment enough.
"He may have been sentenced to eight months [in prison], but he has been sentenced to living with what he did to his best friend for the rest of his life," David said. "With that in mind, I would rather have seen Nick get all probation, so that he could do something constructive from this mess, rather than wasting away in a jail cell. The sentence was too much. Nick is still a young boy with a life ahead of him. It doesn't excuse his actions, but I'm certain John Graziano knew Nick's driving habits before getting in the car that night. I would have liked to seen him on probation for five years and community service, but not jail time."
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