Athletes commit crimes and get away.. why?

It's surprising to me to see the amount of athletes who get caught doing criminal things.. betting, dog fighting, raping, beating, assult, in knowing that if they were the average joe they would get hard time instead of a slap on the wrist and a fine. Recently, I was in shock when my good friend from Southern Cal told me about a case against Mark Sanchez, who was arrested in college for raping a young lady on his campus. At the time he was a back-up qb with no fame, no money, CA barely knew him. It was a huge news spectacle in the news in S. CA when it happened, but because of the pressure to take the school to a national title when the starter left, the issue was swept under the rug and Sanchez got a slap on the wrist after his arrest. When the Jets found about about Sanchez' past, they hired him because their qb situation was so dire. We neither hear nor talk about the issue with Sanchez, but I don't think it should go forgotten for the victim's sake. Now we hear about staggering numbers of athletes getting arrested for DWI, DUI'S, physical abuse against spouses, etc., and I have to ask why do these criminals get away with a slap on the wrist when you or I would have been much more severly punished?? It's a little crazy if you ask me.

Here's the story on Sanchez:

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/12504422/