The Cincinnati Nine

Imagine working for a company that has a little more than 500 employees with the following statistics:

    · 29 have been accused of spousal abuse
    · 7 have been arrested for fraud
    · 19 have been accused of writing bad checks
    · 117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses
    · 3 have done time for assault
    · 71 can not get a credit card due to bad credit
    · 14 have been arrested on drug·related charges
    · 8 have been arrested for shoplifting
    · 21 are currently defendants in lawsuits
    · 84 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year

Yeah, it makes me wonder why anyone would want to be a member of the Cincinnati Bengals’ organization too…Seriously…I swear…Okay, fine, so those statistics actually pertain to the 535 members of the United States Congress, but the Bengals aren’t that far off.

The nine Bengal players who have had run-ins with the law in the last nine months include four rookies, guys named Odell and Matthias, and are led by King Henry. Chris Henry that is, who is currently winning the “Who Wants To Be A Prisoner?” show with five arrests since entering the league in 2005, the most recent being for providing alcohol to underage girls.

The other eight law-breaking Bengals include four rookies from the 2006 draft class: Defensive end Frostee Rucker (2 counts of misdemeanor spousal battery and vandalism), linebacker A.J. Nicholson (burglary), cornerback Johnathan Joseph (marijuana possession), and wide receiver Reggie McNeal (resisting arrest).

And just because I know you’re curious: Guard Eric Steinbach was charged with boating under the influence, defensive tackle Matthias Askew was charged with resisting arrest, and veteran cornerback Deltha O’Neal and second-year linebacker Odell Thurman were both charged with driving while intoxicated.

Count ’em: Nine players on one team arrested and/or suspended for one illegal act or another in the last nine months. That’s not even taking into account the four other times Henry has been arrested, or Nicholson’s numerous pre-NFL legal troubles. Maybe the Bengals should waive all these players. Maybe the NFL should impose stricter punishments. Either way, something has to change.

We know the players aren’t going to transform overnight (Henry has probably spent more time doing community service and rehab than he has in a Cincy uniform), so the coaching staff and league officials are the ones who need to change. I mean, football is the toughest American sport out there, but when it comes to punishing players, the league is softer than T.O. across the middle. And even though head coach Marvin Lewis vowed to “crack down” on his players, he bluffs more than Mike Matusow (and folds a lot faster). Sure, Lewis has threatened to cut players who misbehave and mentioned something about Henry basically not being part of the team, but no real action has been taken.

So do Lewis and his administration purposely draft the most careless, least sensible punks available on the board ever year? Doesn’t image, character and team chemistry mean anything to the Bengals when they are looking at potential draft selections? Cincinnati is a team that has plenty of talent to make the playoffs; enough, in my opinion, to win a Super Bowl. But apparently it’s all wasted on drugs, guns and alcohol.

If the players aren’t going to change, and the team isn’t going to do anything about it, the league needs to show some balls and take this issue on. Because these nine players are repeatedly punching the league in the face, giving it a new black eye every time, and the league is throwing a feeble punch or two back, but nothing nearly hard enough to hurt and hit home.

This problem is becoming to football what the steroid scandal is to baseball. It gives the entire league and sport a negative image and is having a terrible impact on younger players. Don’t think so? Just ask Rafael Mendoza, the Northern Colorado punter who was stabbed in the kicking leg by his backup. Or ask the University of Miami or Florida International University (who both imposed much more effective punishments on their players than the NFL ever has).

The NFL has a history of being much too forgiving with their out of control players. O.J. Simpson, Ray Lewis and Michael Irvin immediately come to mind. For Mary Jane’s sake, Ricky Williams was still allowed to play after violating the league’s substance abuse policy FOUR times!

Why are they allowing these players to walk away from the wreckage they create virtually unharmed? The players, coaches and league executives need to take responsibility right now.

Star quarterback Carson Palmer shares my frustration. “Enough is enough,” Palmer said at the Super Bowl media center. “It’s something we’re definitely not proud of. From here on out, guys just need to make better decisions. Life is about making the right decisions and moving on. The decisions they’ve made are not the right ones.”

Let me quickly offer my apologies though, to the Bengals organization. Because throughout this column in which I’ve relentlessly bashed the players and team, I forgot to mention and applaud their efforts in controlling fan violence. The Bengals have set up a hotline that fans can call during games if other fans are getting too rowdy. Is there a fan near you cussing, drinking or fighting too much? Just pick up your phone and dial (513) 381-JERK. No, that’s not a joke either. Thank God the Bengals figured out a way to control those crazy fans. Now if only they could figure out a way to control their own players…

My solution for the problem is simple: Crack down. Make the penalties harsher and more significant to a player’s salary and future in the league. If the player violates the substance abuse policy once, suspend them for eight games. Twice, a full season. Three times, sayonara, see you later. While there’s nothing that the team or league can do about players during the off-season, if they do something illegal during the season, whether football-related or not, fine them an amount that won’t just force them to issue a statement saying ‘my bad.’ Give them something that’ll hurt their wallets. If the regular fine is $10,000, make it $25,000. If it’s $25,000, make it $75,000.

If someone is arrested for an incident during the season, suspend them for two games. If it’s something huge (i.e. O.J.) suspend them for even longer. And don’t get soft, don’t turn back, stay strong throughout the whole process. I guarantee players start to think twice about what they do off the field.

And I don’t want to hear that it would be unfair and cheat the teams. Because the only people it’s unfair to right now are the fans that are being cheated by the players’ stupidity. Not to mention all the young boys who worship these players and are unknowingly being influenced by these “role models.”

Besides Palmer, the only person related to the Bengals’ plethora of felons that is making any sense right now is Judge Douglas Grothaus who, according to the Cincinnati Post, told Chris Henry that he was “the Stanley Wilson of the Cincinnati Bengals.” That he is “a cancer.” And that Henry has “no respect for authority” and no respect for himself.

That same story produced this ingenious sound bite: “It’s good that Chris’s cases have been resolved,” Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said in a statement. “Now he must continue to strive to mature and grow both as a player and as a person.”

Great job, coach. Way to take control. You know what Chris Henry is doing after he reads that? He’s laughing his ass off, because simply stating the obvious over and over again is not getting you anywhere.

There is clearly something wrong when Chad Johnson is the best-behaved player on a team. And the Bengals’ franchise and the NFL need to recognize that and start taking action. But this time, whispering, “please pull your act together Mr. Henry,” can’t be enough.