You have GOT to be kidding me...This is ONN:
Monday morning, rookie cornerback Johnathan Joseph became the ninth Cincinnati Bengal arrested in just over a year. Boone County Sheriff's Deputies charged him with possession of marijuana.That last sentence is what bothers me the most... "No comment"? How about throwing some of these guys off the team? Cincinnati already has its problems with crime, the last thing we need is a football team full of thugs... Hell, if we wanted a team of criminals here, UC should have kept Huggins around... This is a horrible situation and the team had better start addressing the problem.
And as Joe Webb tells us, fans and former players say something has to change.
Johnathan Joseph fit in with the Bengals his rookie season. And his rookie off-season is right in step, too. Joseph can add his mug shot to the growing list of problem Bengals. Nine...count'em, a full 20 percent of the 45-man roster.
...
That's more Bengals being arrested than wins this year. The team had no comment.
Read the whole story here.
Mark's Remarks
The problem here is not just with the Bengals, Marvin Lewis, but with the NFL and organized sports in particular. Why is it when most everyone else is involved in some of these cases and they go public, they get time off, unpaid leave, and they also get mandatory drug counseling? In the NFL, you have to have at least two offenses before you can even talk suspension. And these are people who have earned the PRIVILEGE to play a game! This should be considered a special job, a public trust. When they screw up, they should lose that trust for a time. In my opinion, you get caught with dope, marijuana, or DUI, you should lose at least a year's pay and time off. You have flaunted your privilege, taken it for granted, and maybe it needs taken away for a while so you value it again.
The truth of the matter is, thought, Marvin Lewis is in a quandry. He has said he is going to be tough, but what will cutting John Joseph do? I mean, he is on a rookie contract, where he is making less than the obscene market value for someone in his position and skills. All cutting him would do in effect is set him free to profit further, as well as go to another team to menace the Bengals.
Some people make it a zero sum game on this issue. They say, do you want to win games or have nice guys? Why can't it be both. If the sports leagues took these issues seriously and banned people sooner, forcing them to get real jobs maybe, or forcing them to realize how privileged they are and value it, then maybe you could have nice guys AND win. See, the problem is if you have some ability to run fast or throw far, then your problems are all thrown aside. Here is what should happen.
Leagues need to start penalizing players and the clubs that sign them. If a player signed to your team gets caught with drugs and/or drunk driving, then that person should be fined, suspended for half a season, and get no pay that year, on offense one. Also, the team should be fined for making a stupid decision to sign such a person. Make it a heavy fine. Then, any team picking up that player in the future has to pay a fine for picking up a reprobate for at least 3 years after the offense. Call it a penalty for taking a chance. The player stays clean during those three years, the team gets their money back. If the player doesn't, then that player forfeits his contract, and the team gets fined, but can seek recompense from the player in court.
Until you hold the teams and players responsible, all that will happen is a shuffling of the players, with no real meaningful action taken.
