SI: Thurman facing indefinite suspension

by Josh Kirkendall on Jun 2, 2008 7:21 PM EDT

If reports are true, and Odell Thurman is facing an indefinite suspension based on another failed drug test, then let me get a towel, run it under warm water from the faucet and wipe my face from all the egg yoke. Then, let me apologize to Marvin Lewis and the Bengals front office for slamming them days after releasing the linebacker days after the burial of his dear grandmother.

We suspected that there was "something else" when the Bengals released Thurman. That "something else" was never made public and the world thought the Bengals released Thurman for sticking with family after the sudden death of his grandmother. That "something else" could be realized now. I still don't understand why the Bengals (again, if reports are true) wouldn't explain totally their reasoning. Not that it matters and not that they're in the wrong.

Anyway, there you go. Supposedly he's facing an indefinite suspension.

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I was like you...

Something didn’t add up…but I was incredulous at the Bengals’ front office…but something still didn’t add up.

From the Department of the Redundancy Department…

by TheWalrus1971 on Jun 2, 2008 8:10 PM EDT reply actions

As mad as I was at the brain trust- and I use that phrase loosely- for cutting Odell, I can’t help but wonder whether Thurman heard the news from the Bengals which, added to his recent family loss, ended up leading him to drown his sorrows in whatever his drug of choice happens to be. Not that that would absolve Odell of the ultimate responsibility for his decision but it would just figure that Mike Brown remains immune from the repercussions of his decisions, counting the unjust profits of his very mediocrity…

by IgnatiusJReilly on Jun 3, 2008 12:40 AM EDT reply actions

That's ridiculous

Read between the lines. This happened before they released him.

by whodey on Jun 3, 2008 10:05 AM EDT up reply actions

Agreed

It takes several weeks for these suspensions to run their course, from the testing to the results to the review by the league office to notification of suspension.

The Bengals knew he failed another test, but they aren’t allowed, nor would they anyway, say anything about it.

by bengalred on Jun 3, 2008 10:16 AM EDT up reply actions

Was a Matter of Time

If this report is true, MIke Brown, Marvin Lewis nor the Bengals organization bear any responsibility. Blame lies only with one person—Odell himself. Drug abuse is a scrourge on our society, and all indications point to Thurman being an addict. It’s very sad, but when people are as sick as this young appears to be, few ever make it back to product-member-of-society status, let alone Pro Bowl status. Forget football, let’s just hope he’s alive in a few years.

by Timzilla on Jun 3, 2008 8:30 AM EDT reply actions

I wonder

whether it wouldn’t have been prudent for the brain trust to at least have hinted at this latest development when they 86’d Odell? Lord knows, it would have eased the PR hit or, to take Kirkendall’s imagery further, kept us from sticking our faces into the egg in the first place. Obviously, if this failed piss test was known to the Bengals beforehand, I stand corrected, but that hasn’t been established yet and I still maintain they could have timed it better.

And, yes, Tim, drugs are a scourge on society but they share that mantle with that nebulous and draconian Reagan relic, the War declared on them. Even the archest of archconservatives, the late Wiliam F. Buckley, favored decriminalization, regulation, taxation, and rehabilitation- in that order. What this has to do with Odell, I couldn’t say, I just felt like mentioning that neanderthal curmudgeon on a football blog… B-)

by IgnatiusJReilly on Jun 3, 2008 9:06 AM EDT reply actions

I don't think the Bengals are allowed to comment at all until the league announces it

That’s why Marvin didn’t mention it.

by bengalred on Jun 3, 2008 10:17 AM EDT up reply actions

Just Adds To The Noise

Can’t say I’m with you on the legalizing drug thing. Liberals have never articulated an effective argument for how it benefits society. And calling people with whom you disagree neanderthals doesn’t contribute much to important debates in our country; it just adds to the noise. Hopefully Odell can survive his problems.

by Timzilla on Jun 3, 2008 11:54 AM EDT up reply actions