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Let's hope Tank is just the beginning
Kevin Hench
FOXSports.com,
The times they are a-changin'.
The Nightclub Shootings Era of the National Football League is coming to a close. Thank God.
With a decision that will reverberate from NFL boardrooms to locker rooms to strip clubs, the Chicago Bears have said enough is enough, cutting Tank Johnson after his latest — and perhaps most benign — run-in with the law.
Hallelujah. Let the domino effect begin.
If the Bears can cut Johnson — whose bodyguard was murdered in a nightclub shooting last December — for a traffic infraction, how can the Titans not release "Pacman" Jones? Or the Bengals Chris Henry?
For too long NFL teams have hidden behind the legal process, bogusly claiming their hands are tied while they wait for the slow wheels of jurisprudence to grind out a result. In the meantime, Tank Johnson has four solo tackles in the Super Bowl, "Pacman" Jones returns punts for touchdowns and Chris Henry catches TD passes while complicit owners high-five in their luxury suites.
So when a player has outlived his usefulness the owner and general manager suddenly remember that NFL contracts are not guaranteed. But when that bad actor can help them win games, well, we mustn't rush to judgment.
The Bears certainly didn't rush to judgment, though they probably wish they had. They accommodated Johnson at every turn, making sure he was on the field for the Super Bowl, then visiting him in jail as he served two months on weapons charges this spring.
But after Johnson was pulled over for doing 40 in a 25 zone at 3:30 a.m. Friday and was suspected of being impaired, the team cut the cord. The Bears didn't need to wait for the results of the toxicology test, which, for some reason, could take up to two weeks. Their patience and sympathy had not only been exhausted, but also abused.
"We are upset and embarrassed," said Bears GM Jerry Angelo in a statement. Well, better late than never.
Johnson's criminal timeline is hugely instructive when it comes to understanding the league's shift from look-the-other-way enabling to zero tolerance.
When Johnson was arrested and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor weapons charge in 2005, no action was taken by the league or team.
When Johnson's house was raided last December and six unregistered firearms were discovered — in violation of the earlier gun charge — Tank went undisciplined by the league (until after the season) or the Bears
Two days after the raid, Tank's bodyguard was shot and killed while he and Johnson were in a Chicago nightclub. That incident earned Johnson a one-game suspension courtesy of the Bears, but the league still did nothing and Johnson was ultimately allowed to play in the Super Bowl.
After a two-month jail stint for Johnson for violating the terms of his probation, the NFL finally slapped him with an eight-game suspension for the 2007 season.
After being pulled over for driving 40 in a 25 and suspected of "impairment to the slightest degree," Tank Johnson's association with the Bears was terminated.
Tank Johnson got to play in the Super Bowl, but the 2007 season was out of the question for the Bears. (Jed Jacobsohn / Getty Images)
It may not seem proportionate, but Johnson's release could go a long way to getting the word out that bad behavior will no longer be tolerated in the NFL.
Commissioner Roger Goodell has begun the process and now the teams need to follow the lead of the Bears and do their part. Even if it hurts.
It was easy for the Bengals to release recidivist linebacker A.J. Nicholson because he wasn't a big part of their future plans. But Henry is a field-stretching wide receiver with a nose for the end zone. It would be a sacrifice for the Bengals to release Henry, but hasn't he forfeited the privilege of returning to the NFL after his suspension?
And Jones may have been the Titans' most electric defensive player and special teamer last year, but what more would a guy have to do, how many more times would he have to be in the wrong place at the wrong time before his employer replaced him?
If ever there was a time for collusion, this is it. Owners want to know before they start cutting the bad apples on their rosters that the guy they're competing with for a division title won't scoop him up. The Bears' decision to cut Johnson is a good start, but if the Vikings sign him next week, the watershed teaching moment will have been wasted.
As the cell phones of NFL players light up this week with discussions of what they did to Tank, let it be known to these guys that their livelihood can be taken away.
Don't drink and drive. Don't carry a gun in public. Don't get into arguments at strip clubs at 4 a.m.
Oh, and don't hold dogfights on your property.
The thug life is over in the NFL. If you still insist on living it, your career will be over too.
__________________
FOXSports.com,
The times they are a-changin'.
The Nightclub Shootings Era of the National Football League is coming to a close. Thank God.
With a decision that will reverberate from NFL boardrooms to locker rooms to strip clubs, the Chicago Bears have said enough is enough, cutting Tank Johnson after his latest — and perhaps most benign — run-in with the law.
Hallelujah. Let the domino effect begin.
If the Bears can cut Johnson — whose bodyguard was murdered in a nightclub shooting last December — for a traffic infraction, how can the Titans not release "Pacman" Jones? Or the Bengals Chris Henry?
For too long NFL teams have hidden behind the legal process, bogusly claiming their hands are tied while they wait for the slow wheels of jurisprudence to grind out a result. In the meantime, Tank Johnson has four solo tackles in the Super Bowl, "Pacman" Jones returns punts for touchdowns and Chris Henry catches TD passes while complicit owners high-five in their luxury suites.
So when a player has outlived his usefulness the owner and general manager suddenly remember that NFL contracts are not guaranteed. But when that bad actor can help them win games, well, we mustn't rush to judgment.
The Bears certainly didn't rush to judgment, though they probably wish they had. They accommodated Johnson at every turn, making sure he was on the field for the Super Bowl, then visiting him in jail as he served two months on weapons charges this spring.
But after Johnson was pulled over for doing 40 in a 25 zone at 3:30 a.m. Friday and was suspected of being impaired, the team cut the cord. The Bears didn't need to wait for the results of the toxicology test, which, for some reason, could take up to two weeks. Their patience and sympathy had not only been exhausted, but also abused.
"We are upset and embarrassed," said Bears GM Jerry Angelo in a statement. Well, better late than never.
Johnson's criminal timeline is hugely instructive when it comes to understanding the league's shift from look-the-other-way enabling to zero tolerance.
When Johnson was arrested and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor weapons charge in 2005, no action was taken by the league or team.
When Johnson's house was raided last December and six unregistered firearms were discovered — in violation of the earlier gun charge — Tank went undisciplined by the league (until after the season) or the Bears
Two days after the raid, Tank's bodyguard was shot and killed while he and Johnson were in a Chicago nightclub. That incident earned Johnson a one-game suspension courtesy of the Bears, but the league still did nothing and Johnson was ultimately allowed to play in the Super Bowl.
After a two-month jail stint for Johnson for violating the terms of his probation, the NFL finally slapped him with an eight-game suspension for the 2007 season.
After being pulled over for driving 40 in a 25 and suspected of "impairment to the slightest degree," Tank Johnson's association with the Bears was terminated.
It may not seem proportionate, but Johnson's release could go a long way to getting the word out that bad behavior will no longer be tolerated in the NFL.
Commissioner Roger Goodell has begun the process and now the teams need to follow the lead of the Bears and do their part. Even if it hurts.
It was easy for the Bengals to release recidivist linebacker A.J. Nicholson because he wasn't a big part of their future plans. But Henry is a field-stretching wide receiver with a nose for the end zone. It would be a sacrifice for the Bengals to release Henry, but hasn't he forfeited the privilege of returning to the NFL after his suspension?
And Jones may have been the Titans' most electric defensive player and special teamer last year, but what more would a guy have to do, how many more times would he have to be in the wrong place at the wrong time before his employer replaced him?
If ever there was a time for collusion, this is it. Owners want to know before they start cutting the bad apples on their rosters that the guy they're competing with for a division title won't scoop him up. The Bears' decision to cut Johnson is a good start, but if the Vikings sign him next week, the watershed teaching moment will have been wasted.
As the cell phones of NFL players light up this week with discussions of what they did to Tank, let it be known to these guys that their livelihood can be taken away.
Don't drink and drive. Don't carry a gun in public. Don't get into arguments at strip clubs at 4 a.m.
Oh, and don't hold dogfights on your property.
The thug life is over in the NFL. If you still insist on living it, your career will be over too.
__________________
