ProFootballTalk.com says over Odell Thurman:
At a time when Bengals coach Marvin Lewis is being criticized for the team's selection of turds like receiver Chris Henry and linebacker A.J. Nicholson, we're told that rumors of a looming embarrassment from yet another recent draft pick are off the mark.There's talk that linebacker Odell Thurman, who hardly has been a choir boy during his first season in Cincy, will be suspended for the 2006 season, presumably for violations of the substance abuse policy. Per a league source, the rumors aren't true.
We can't get any more details than that (such as, for example, whether Thurman is in the substance abuse program at a level less than the trigger for a one-year banishment) given the highly confidential nature of such matters.
But confidentiality and the possibility of a $500,000 fine for breaching it hasn't kept many folks from blabbing about matters regarding the drug policy in the past, so if Thurman has generated any positive tests we figure word will get out.
For now, though, there are no truth to rumors of a one-year suspension.
I think I'm pretty up-to-date on Bengals happenings; more so than the average fan maybe. But this is the first time I've heard this rumor. Gotta do what you gotta do to spike up them hits I guess...
On a related, note, BigBlueShoe over at Stampede Blue isn't a big fan of ProFootballTalk either who calls Florio a "shameless promoter". Can't argue that.