The latest episode with Chris Henry could prove to be the last straw. A turn signal and seat belt violation, of all things, could get the receiver suspended for a full season with 88 days in jail (after already serving two days in a 90-day sentence) for violating his probation. Henry, next week, will meet with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
More reaction...
Clint calls Henry an idiot.
Sportz Assassin (don't you love anonymity of creative screen names without every using their real names?) says there are "rumors that it may be just a clerical error that his license hadn't been reinstated". I work for the courts at my day job, and I can tell you, a clerical error would be resolved... quickly. And admission of that now would open way too many questions. But I suppose a clerical error is always in the realm of possibility.
Pete Prisco makes an interesting point. It's not that the players are different today; rather it's the times we live in today.
That player was arrested, pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon, was placed on five years probation and then ended up spending two months in a psychiatric hospital.
One more thing: Ernie Holmes played the entire 14-game schedule for the Pittsburgh Steelers the next season and was a key member of the vaunted Steel Curtain.
That arrest came in the early 1970s.
Could you imagine if that happened today?
There would be immediate live reports with stakeouts at the jail, cameras at the mental hospital, an outcry from fans to get him off the field and loads of pressure on the Steelers to do something about it.
The point of the story is this: The NFL players of today are no different than the players of yesterday.
Adam Schein wants to just talk about football -- which is slightly ironic. His main point was that character issues are absorbing too much media attention. However, when given the opportunity to talk about football, he talks about character issues. Money, visits and ratings talk, baby. That's why you're not talking about football right now. It's the same about anything though. Does the media actually discuss legislation, when covering politics, or do they find every single way to twist something into an interesting story?
Then again, any story with Chris Henry is far from boring.