Sandra Day O'Connor showed sense of humor during interaction with ex-Commanders RB
Sandra Day O'Connor, who died Friday at the age of 93, was an American trailblazer. She was the first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, the first woman to become majority leader of a state Senate, a fierce advocate of civics education and, in the words of Chief Justice John Roberts, "a fiercely independent defender of the rule of law."
But in 1985, O'Connor found herself in the spotlight for a more lighthearted reason − a comical interaction with an intoxicated NFL running back at a black-tie event in Washington.
As the oft-told story goes, O'Connor and Washington's star running back, John Riggins, were guests of People magazine at the annual "Salute to Congress" event on January 30, 1985 − seated among a host of other high-powered attendees that included then-Virginia Gov. Chuck Robb.
In NFL Network’s A Football Life: John Riggins, Riggins recalled that he had been drinking beers with a friend most of the afternoon, ordered a double scotch upon his arrival at the event, and then opted to pass on dinner. Robb told the network that Riggins proceeded to knock over two bottles of red wine at their table. And somewhere along the way came the now-famous interaction with O'Connor.
"Come on Sandy, baby, loosen up," Riggins, who is now 74, told her. "You're too tight."
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Riggins has said they were told that O'Connor would need to leave the event early, and he was simply trying to keep the party rolling.
"It got to that point, when someone is trying to leave a party, we all say, 'Oh come on, stay a little longer,' " he told Roll Call in 2010. "That's the spirit it was meant in."
O'Connor ended up leaving early all the same, though she appeared to get a kick out of the exchange. She referenced it at the start of a speech at Pepperdine University Law School a few days later, to raucous laughter. And The Washingtonian reported that, when Riggins turned to acting and made his debut in a play, O'Connor showed up "and presented him with a dozen roses."
Riggins told Roll Call that he even considered O'Connor a friend − despite, from his standpoint, the embarrassing encounter in 1985.
"I was already thinking that this is going to be on my tombstone, and that's what she said to me," he told Roll Call. "We're linked together for life − which is good for me, but not so good for her."
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