<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Shawne Williams will face just three traffic-related charges from his arrest earlier this week, but Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird isn't waiting to hear a verdict.</p> </p>In a move intended to send a message to players and fans that the franchise no longer will tolerate off-court missteps, Bird suspended the second-year forward for three games after police said they found marijuana and a gun in Williams' sport utility vehicle.<div class="bodytext">Williams' arrest marked the third time in 11 months that Pacers players have dealt with legal matters.</div><div class="bodytext">"We are making it clear to our players and our fans that this franchise is going in a different direction," Bird said in a statement. "Shawne put himself in a position that placed the franchise in a poor light. He's a good kid who made a bad decision. Our franchise is in a position now where the responsibilities, conduct and standards of the players off the court weigh as heavily as they do on the court."</div><div class="bodytext">Williams will serve his suspension during the first three games of the season -- Oct. 31 against Washington, Nov. 2 against Miami and Nov. 3 at Memphis, his hometown team. Williams, who is scheduled to make $1.3 million this season, will lose about $40,842 during the suspension.</div>Williams, 21, was arrested Tuesday after a traffic stop. He faces preliminary charges of driving without a license, driving with an expired license plate and failure to signal a lane change.<div class="bodytext"></div>Marion County prosecutors filed charges Thursday against all three men who were in Williams' SUV. Prosecutors did not charge Williams with drug possession because a passenger claimed the marijuana was his.</div><div class="bodytext"></div>Source: IndyStar </p>
