Bengals starting middle linebacker Rey Maualuga is scheduled for arraignment on Friday at the Hamilton County Municipal Court for a misdemeanor assault after a bar owner's claim that the linebacker punched him. Sammy Laham, the owner of the Luxe bar in downtown Cincinnati, claimed that Maualuga punched him in the face at around 2:35 on the morning of February 5, despite that it still took five days for the police to file the citation against Maualuga. The team and Maualuga have refused comment at this time.
Arraignments for the most part are mere formalities, where the accused faces the charges against him and then enters a plea. Once the process pans out, depending on his guilt or innocence, there's a good chance that Maualuga could be facing league discipline. This will be his second violation against the personal conduct policy. Two years ago he pled guilty to drunk driving, lost his drivers license for 90 days and given two years of probation.
Maualuga, a second-round draft pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, is entering the final year of his four-year rookie contract. Though he played his first season as the team's linebacker in 2011, Maualuga started 30 games as the team's strong-side linebacker, where Manny Lawson called home last season.