Volleyball's Stanley gets suspended sentence

Advertiser Staff and News Services

ATHENS, Greece — Hawai'i's Clay Stanley of the U.S. Olympic men's volleyball team was given a 15-month suspended sentence yesterday for assaulting an officer and resisting arrest.

Stanley, a Kaiser High graduate who played at the University of Hawai'i, said he was drunk at the time and apologized for Sunday's scuffle at a nightclub following the closing ceremony of the Olympics.

Stanley, who lives in Greece and plays for Iraklis Volleyball Club of the Greek professional volleyball league, also was charged with assaulting a pregnant woman during the scuffle but those charges were subsequently dropped.

Jon Stanley said he spoke to his son yesterday.

"He didn't say much other than to say he's thankful that it's over," Jon Stanley said. "The things he was (mainly) accused of doing was dropped ..."

"Worse case was resisting (arrest) and that's hard to say why he did ... but obviously he wasn't thinking clearly at that point."

Jon Stanley said his son is planning to return to Colorado Springs today.

"He's got a lot of making up to do ... the people who stayed back to help him, that testified (for him) and the people he's compelled to apologize to," Jon Stanley said. "(I) hope he gains (something) from this."

The U.S. team was swept in its bronze-medal match against Russia on Sunday. Stanley had 10 kills and two aces in the loss and finished Olympic play seventh in points with 110 and second in aces with 17.

The Americans finished 4-4 and had their highest finish in a dozen years.

Stanley played for UH until 1999 and joined the national team in 2000.