More Cincinnati Bungles in the Clank
OK, this is really starting to get old and the Cincinnati Bengals need to seriously do something to fix the problem…
Cornerback Johnathan Joseph, the team’s first-round draft pick in 2006, was arrested early Monday in Boone County and charged with marijuana possession.
The case of Joseph, the ninth Bengals player arrested since Jan. 1, 2006, brings into focus the fine line Cincinnati has tried to walk in turning the corner from NFL pretender to contender.
The arrests also drew the attention of the NFL commissioner, and have made Cincinnati the butt of national jokes. The Bengals led the NFL in the unofficial category of players arrested with eight during the 2006 calendar year, two more than San Diego. No database is know to exist that would allow a historical comparison of arrests between the 2006 Bengals and other NFL teams through the years.
Joseph is charged with possession of marijuana, a misdemeanor. He was taken into custody at 2:15 a.m. after a car in which he was a passenger was stopped at U.S. 42 and Braxton Road. A Boone County sheriff’s deputy said he stopped the 1999 gold Ford vehicle for weaving in and out of lanes at a slow rate of speed. A police report states the vehicle crossed the center line three times.
The driver, Kelsy Glover of Fairfield, was charged with careless driving and operating on a suspended license. Glover told the deputy she was eating food and reaching for Joseph’s juice when she was stopped, according to the report.
The police report states the deputy searched a Super Bowl XL backpack Joseph was holding after smelling a strong odor of marijuana during the traffic stop.
Marijuana was found in the backpack next to a video game system, deputies said.
Joseph, even though not convicted, must attend treatment sessions as a first-time violator of NFL policy. Punishment is spelled out in the league’s collective bargaining agreement and is currently out of the Bengals’ control.
A second violation would bring a four-game suspension, and the third strike brings one-year banishment.
[Read the full story at The Cincinnati Enquirer]
Before 2006 I had thought that some teams (regardless of the sport) had a higher than usual amount of off-field player issues, but Cincinnati is clearly in a league of their own (but not too far ahead of the San Diego Chargers). Seriously guys, get your act together quickly before you lose a few seasons over it.
