The only way to keep your JOB is to WORK!
NO Blame game changes that!

I just think that, had Marvin decided already that he was through with Thurman, they should have cut him when his initial suspension was doubled prior to last season- something I think I’ll always hold against Roger Goodell.

All the reports we’d seen concerning Odell this off-season seemed to indicate he was working out and eager to get back in the game. He was apparently doing counseling, recovery-oriented meetings and whatnot to fulfill the terms of being reinstated. It was even reported by the Bengals, prior to the OTA in question, that Odell wouldn’t be there, that he was going to Georgia for his grandmother’s funeral, which at least implied that he had the clubs’ blessing. Hell, professional athletes are routinely excused in mid-season for a death in the family, sometimes even missing a game.

Now, I realize that there may be something going on here that hasn’t yet been- and maybe won’t ever be- made public but, armed only with the facts that are out there, it sounds like Marvin was a punk about the whole thing, waiting ‘til Odell left town because he was too much of a pussy to tell him to his face.

Another issue this brings to light is our right to know- or whether we have one at all. I would argue that, as fans and patrons of this organization, we at least indirectly pay these guys salary- in the same way as we pay our elected government representatives. Add to that the fact that the talent segment of this industry is an overtly public position akin to similar positions in the entertainment industry. The entire process- the behavior, the rule broken, the punishment should be transparent. I understand the ethical issues involved medically and we need not know anything beyond, say, “failed or refused a drug test.” But know it, we should.

With Odell, In the first place, his initial suspension for an entire year, in comparison to, say, Tank Johnson’s punishment or Joey Porter’s non-punishment, was completely bullshit, a draconian example Roger Goodell decided to set- wrong place, wrong time for Odell. When that suspension was extended, Goodell revealed either a pettiness of character or a vendetta against the Bengals and, since by all indications he’s supposed to be a decent enough guy, I’ll go with the latter. If there was a legitimate reason for that extension, we should have been told, even if only in broad strokes.

Looking to athletes as role models and holding them to higher standards character-wise than the general public is at once misguided, naive, and indicative of a much deeper problem society wide of our collective priorities. Most, not all, but most of these infractions that the Bengals have been lambasted over are ones that hurt nobody and that none of us would have lost our jobs over. I’ve never gotten a DUI but, when I was younger than I am now but still older than most of the players in question, I got busted for possession and I’ve been thrown out of more nightclubs than I can count.

Difference is, nobody called the police or the media when I got my drunk on and started feeling my oats. If they go and hit a woman or injure someone else beyond the scrapes and bruises of a typical bar fight, fine, punish them and, if eventually, their conduct prompts the legal system to have claim to their time, then penalize them for whatever they miss team-wise. Offer them drug and alcohol counseling, provide them with designated sober drivers for their nights out, and, for god’s sakes, decriminalize marijuana and fill the resulting vacancies in the penal system with those who actually deserve to be there- and for the entirety of their sentence.

Still, this kind of shit always seems to happen in Cincinnati and the only common denominator over the last seventeen years is Mike Brown. Rumor is that former Niner owner, Eddie DeBartolo is looking to get back in the ownership game. Does anyone know how to forge Mike Brown’s signature?

It is a sad situation with Odell, one that will probably come back and haunt the Bengals – if Odell hears this ‘wake-up’ call. That would mean – he now understands as an idividual – he alone is responsible. I hope that he does (even if it means he’ll be on the opposing sideline). My real reason for posing to this column was to send my condolences to you for having to LIVE in PITTSBURGH. Keep your head up, stay clear of speeding motorcyclists without helmets and men without teeth, the probably play for the Steelers. ;-) (Then again, I think I described the entire city – not that there is anything to do there, but DON’T GO OUT!).