Nick Bollea (I’m not going to call him Nick Hogan in this article, since that isn’t his real name) was in court today and the judge handed down sentencing:

Nick Hogan threw himself at the mercy of the judge today in Clearwater, FL in his felony reckless driving case — and he got just a lil’ bit. Hogan was sentenced to eight months in jail, five years’ probation and 500 hours community service, and the judge yanked his license for three years.

The judge also said no drinking for three years…and he also pointed out that not only is Nick underage but he will still be so once the three years is up.  He is also to spend one full day in “some positive framework” every month.  Not quite sure what that means, but it can’t be a bad thing.

During today’s proceedings, Nick spoke about John Graziano, the former Marine who is now in an almost vegetative state after the horrific accident:

During the hearing, Bollea apologized to Graziano’s family and told them he missed John, whom he regarded as his best friend and older brother.

“No matter what has been said, every day I think about John,” said Bollea. “There will never be a day I forget about this.”

His father Terry (Hulk Hogan) also offered testimony:

Hogan, also known as Terry Bollea, also testified, and said he hoped his son wouldn’t be unfairly punished because of his celebrity status.

“Our whole family will never give up on John,” Hogan said. “And we hope everyone else won’t give up on Nick.”

Hogan said John was practically a member of the family, celebrating birthdays and going on vacation with the Bolleas. John was 17 when he met Nick Bollea and the two became fast friends. John went on to join the Marines and serve in Iraq. He had only recently returned home.

Hogan said his son was devastated by the wreck.

“Being Nick’s father, I’ve noticed a change in his demeanor,” Hogan said. “He’s done a lot of growing up in the last 18 months.”

He also said that Nick is not as he has been portrayed on their “reality” show:

Dressed all in black, including a scarf on his head, Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, urged the judge not to make his son a convicted felon. His plea: Withhold adjudication.

“My son has really, deeply been affected by what occurred in this accident,” Hogan said. “What I don’t want to see happen is another tragedy. Nick is going to have to live with this experience the rest of his life.”

He said the public misunderstands his son because his personality is not what was portrayed on the family’s reality television show, which Hogan said was scripted. Hogan said his son would be sitting at his computer and show producers would ask him to throw water balloons. “Nick is a good person,” Hogan said. “He’s kind. He’s gentle. He’s compassionate.”

The Graziano family spoke of their own observations of Nick, which differ from those recalled by his father:

[Members] of the Graziano family told the judge that Nick Bollea never showed any remorse after the crash that left John Graziano in a semi-conscious state.

John’s father, Ed Graziano, said Bollea displayed senseless, reckless behavior when visiting John at Bayfront Medical Center in the days after the accident. He said Bollea, 17, would skateboard down the halls shooting a dart gun while at the hospital.

“What Al-Quaeda couldn’t do to my son, (Bollea) did,” Ed Graziano said.

They also spoke about John, who is showing a few signs of improvement, but who will never be even close to the man he once was:

Graziano is currently at James A. Haley Medical Center. He is likely to need lifelong care. A guardian has filed a civil suit against the Bolleas on Graziano’s behalf to help pay for his care.

Graziano’s sister, Christin Carson, said she still picks up the phone to call her brother before remembering his condition.

“To see a Marine reduced to a state in which his mother has to bathe him is almost too much to bear,” said Carson, choking back tears.

His mother, Debbie Graziano, said she jumps with excitement when John’s eyes move or he squeezes her hand.

“I pray for a miracle, but the doctors tell me he’ll never be John again,” she said.

“I don’t know how I’m going to live through this, missing my son,” Debbie Graziano added. “It’s excruciating.”

And the judge took all these factors into consideration when handing down his sentence:

Circuit Judge Philip Federico said he hopes Bollea, 17, the son of famous wrestler Hulk Hogan, will do “everything you can do to make up for this.” He also withheld adjudication, which means Bollea will not have a felony record.

The sentence is intended to both punish Bollea and give him a chance to redeem himself, Federico said.

In addition, Bollea’s drivers license was revoked for three years, and he must pay $6,500 to the Clearwater Police Department and $450 in court fees. […]

Bollea’s attorneys began the hearing by telling Federico they wouldn’t fight the charge of reckless driving with serious bodily injury, a third-degree felony, if the judge agreed to cap his sentence at one year in jail.

The charge stems from Bollea’s role in an Aug. 26 car crash that left his friend and passenger, John Graziano, in critical condition.

Attorney J. Kevin Hayslett said Bollea would plead no contest if his sentence wouldn’t exceed more than one year in jail and five years probation.

“Nick’s been very clear he wanted to resolve this today,” Hayslett said.

He also wanted to make sure everyone, including Nick and his father, understood that this was no accident:

Rosenwasser noted that the defendant’s father wrote the court, saying the crash was an accident. The prosecutor said he wanted Bollea to understand that was not the case. The prosecutor said Bollea made the choice to drive the way he did on a wet road. “I want him to understand that it’s his fault. This crash was his fault and only his fault.” [emphasis mine]

That is the crux of the matter…he must learn to accept the consequences of his actions.  Part of this is the sentence handed down by the court today, the jail time and the probation and the taking away of his license.  He must learn that every action has a consequence, whether that be good or bad, favorable or unfavorable, easy or hard.  Most of us learned this very basic lesson as children…unfortunately, there are so many (far too many) for whom this is a foreign concept, the idea of taking responsibility for one’s actions and atoning for them when we have been wrong.

I think that, perhaps, Nick is learning.  Slowly but surely, he is learning.  While I’ve been as hard on him as anyone (and I think the sentence could have been more), I do remember that he is seventeen years old.  That’s just one year older than my own son, and I can’t imagine him doing something on the scale of this horrible accident, one that almost cost a man his life.  I am not sure if Nick has completely grasped the reality of what happened, and the consequences of that, but he is going to have the next eight months to really think about what he did.

I, for one, hope that he comes out of this experience a stronger and wiser young man.  I hope that the time spent in jail will not be wasted time, but rather time spent in reflection and repentance.  Unfortunately, when he comes out, he will have the same set of parents and the same opulent lifestyle he had when he went in…the same parents and the same lifestyle which allowed and even condoned the idea that he was somehow above the laws which govern the “little people” (you know, laws like not drinking underage, not drinking and driving, not racing on city streets, stuff like that).

Personally, I believe that his parents should also be punished in some way, although some would argue that they are because it will undoubtedly be them who pay his fines and legal costs.  The money they must shell out, however, is a drop in the bucket to them.  I believe that they too should have to serve community service alongside their son, since it was their lax and indulgent parenting which was a contributing factor in this whole mess (if you don’t believe me, read this and watch the video in this link).  Yes, he should have known better…but his parents should have stepped in years ago and been true parents.  Yes, John should have known better than to get in the car…but had Nick not been drinking and racing, there would not have been a choice to make.  A passenger cannot stop the driver of a car, especially at the speeds they were traveling that night.

But one thing I have learned is that punishment should not last forever.  At some point, there is a time when the punishment should end, or it accomplishes nothing.  Hopefully Nick will come out of this realizing, truly realizing, that what he did changed a young man’s life forever, and that everything he does has repercussions, and that he becomes truly sorry for the pain and hurt he has caused, and that he should fully accept responsibility for what he did (not just paying it lip service).  I would also say that he needs to get as far away from his so-called “family” as he can (I would call them at best enablers, at worst aiders and abettors), although that might be too much to wish for.

Nick has been handed a wonderful opportunity, if he will just realize it for what it is.  He has a chance to grow up, a chance to realize what has happened, a chance to atone in some small way for the actions of that fateful night.  While nothing will make John Graziano the man he once was, and while nothing will change what happened, taking responsibility and trying to change are huge steps in the right direction.  After all, sentencing is not for revenge, but for punishment and then (hopefully) learning and maturing and cultivating within the person a sincere desire to not repeat the mistake.

If he truly understands all of this (and I personally don’t believe that he truly does, not just yet), then he will also understand that he must live with this for the rest of his life.  That is more than he can comprehend at the moment, considering his indulgent attitude, but he will learn that it is more sentence than any judge could hand down.

I sincerely hope that if there is any good to come out of this terrible event, it is that Nick, or anyone else thinking of doing something stupid, stops and thinks of John before they make a mistake that they will spend the rest of their days grieving over, and walk away from it.  Both Nick and John exercised poor judgement that night.  It is a horrible tragedy that John must spend his life not truly living…it would also be a tragedy if Nick (and, by extension, his family) continues to spend his time trying to deny his responsibility in this whole matter and end up not learning a thing.

A moment’s bad decision can lead to a life of regrets.

(read our continuing Hogan coverage here)