It started in December for the Bengals when last year's third-round pick WR Chris Henry was arrested for possession of marijuana. Henry pled guilty and spent 28 days in a drug rehab program. He has been arrested a total of four times in the past seven months. In a January incident outside an Orlando night club, he was charged with possession of a concealed firearm, a third-degree felony in Florida, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Herny kept things going on June 3 when he was charged with speeding and operating a vehicle under the influence (OVI), registering a .092 blood alcohol level. He was arrested again in mid-June for an April incident in Kentucky in which he allegedly provided alcohol to three women aged 18, 16, and 15. The 18-year-old initially accused Henry of rape, but later confessed it was consensual sex after inconsistencies in her story. Henry has been ordered to avoid alcohol and to have no contact with minors or his bond will be revoked and he will be jailed. His trial date is set for September 26, two days after an important Week 3 game against division-rival Pittsburgh.
Rookie LB A.J. Nicholson, the Bengals' fifth-round pick out of Florida State, was also charged with a crime on June 3. His offense was grand theft and vandalism. He was held in jail while awaiting an appearance before a judge. Nicholson and Fred Rouse (recently dismissed from the Florida State football program) are accused of breaking into the apartment of former teammate Lorenzo Booker, the current Florida State running back. $1,700 worth of electronic equipment is missing, and blood was found at the scene where the burglar broke a window. Rouse confessed to the crime and stated that Nicholson cut his hand breaking the window to gain access to the apartment. Blood was also found on the front doorknob of the nearby home of Nicholson's girlfriend. Florida State had previously suspended Nicholson in late-December and sent him home from the Orange Bowl after he allegedly sexually assaulted a woman at the team hotel, although no charges were ever filed. Last summer he pled no contest to a DUI charge from February 2005. A June 2005 charge of resisting arrest was dropped by the state attorney's office. Florida State did not suspend him following either of those charges.
It does not stop there as the Bengals' third-round pick, DE Frostee Rucker was charged with two counts of spousal battery and vandalism on June 20. The charges stem from an alleged fight between Rucker and his girlfriend in late August at USC. His girlfriend reports a history of abuse. Some of her friends followed the couple after a disagreement and allegedly viewed the fight, then encouraged her to report the incident. Rucker was charged with rape when he was 13 by an 11-year-old. The case was thrown out when several "character" witnesses stood up for him including someone saying he had potential to play football at the collegiate level. He was also accused of sexually assaulting a fellow student-athlete at Colorado State as well as exposing himself to another female during a class. That is what led him to join USC after being dismissed from Colorado State. The Bengals knew of the incident and possible charges when they drafted him in April.
If you thought that was all, nope. The Bengals' 2005 second-round pick Odell Thurman has been suspended for four games for a violation of the NFL's substance abuse policy, which means he has violated the policy 3 times since he was drafted one-year ago. The middle-linebacker was one of five finalists for 2005 rookie-of-the-year. Seahawks' middle-linebacker Lofa Tatupu was also up for the award, which went to RB Cadillac Williams of Tampa Bay. The Seahawks took MLB Tatupu with the the 45th overall pick, and Thurman went 48th overall to Cincinnati. Many people considered Tatupu a reach, but it looks like the Seahawks got the better end of that deal by picking a solid person and good leader.
The latest news on Odell Thurman comes on the heels of the Bengals selecting LB/DE Ahmad Brooks from Virginia in the supplemental draft; giving up a third-round pick in 2007 to acquire him. Brooks was known as an lazy, underachiever and had ballooned up to 286 pounds at one point. He was dismissed from the Virginia football team by coach Al Groh for repeated violations of unspecified team rules, and reportedly failed several drug tests. He has trimmed down to 260 and his agent claims his client has successfully passed five independently administered drug tests in the past three months.
Cincinnati has turned into a complete joke of a franchise at this point. They now have off-the-field problems with their 2nd and 3rd round picks last year, and their 3rd and 5th round picks this year. Why should they think Ahmad Brooks will be any different? When Thurman comes back from his suspension, they are going to line-up two guys with a history of failed drug tests next to each other. Nicholson is also a part of that line-backing corps. Brooks might also play defensive end in pass-rush situations, the same position as Rucker. I wonder if anyone will be violating a directive not to associate with known felons during games or practices. All of the players could be subject to suspension under the NFL's personal conduct policy.
Tim Ruskell's insistence on high-character players becomes increasingly comforting on a nearly daily basis when you hear about other teams' picks being arrested. Maybe that will help us avoid wasted picks like Koren Robinson in the future. I am happy to be a Seahawks fan right now and we should be glad that the last couple of weeks have been relatively news-free because most of it is not good at this time of year.
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