OT -- Bears release Tank Johnson

[ozmetal71]

As a Bears fan, I say good riddance.  George Halas would never let a punk like that on the Bears were he alive.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2916083

[Avenue Commons]

As a Bears fan, I say good riddance.  George Halas would never let a punk like that on the Bears were he alive.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2916083

They should have waited for the results of the blood alcohol test. If he was sober and just speeding this decision would be a little excessive. My guess is that it turns out he was drinking and the Bears knew this and gave him his walking papers. Why these guys don't get one of their "entourage" to drive them when they go out boggles my mind. I'd rather have someone drive me anyways.

[ozmetal71]

I think it was more a factor of the fact that he was caught speeding at 3:30am.  People trying to stay out of trouble usually aren't out that late speeding, whether they are sober or not.

I wish that these morons in pro sports would realize that only bad things happen after midnight, but that is too much to ask when you are young, dumb, and rich, I guess.

I hope that Goddell and the NFL get this garbage under control soon.  The last thing I want to see is for the NFL to degenerate into a hip-hop thug culture like what happened with the NBA.

[Murffieus]

You can give a guy the benefit of the doubt once without imposing the "ultimate solution"----but not another infraction----the Bears did the right thing as this guy was nothing but a distraction and I would have to question his focus!

[MarquetteDano]

Amen to the past midnight comment.  I have a friend whose saying goes like this...

"No matter what age you are, any decision made after Midnight that does not include going home is a bad one."

One's college years may be the only exception but this is, for the most part, very good advice.

 - Dano'

[ozmetal71]

Right on.  Especially when you are a pro athlete who is already under suspension and is skating on razor-thin ice.

Staying out past midnight is fun in college and afterwards every now and then, but really, being out that late often leads to stupidity.

[The Lens]

I have a friend whose saying goes like this...

"No matter what age you are, any decision made after Midnight that does not include going home is a bad one."

Depends what she looks like!

[MUfan2]

I have a friend whose saying goes like this...

"No matter what age you are, any decision made after Midnight that does not include going home is a bad one."

Depends what she looks like!

Trust me, sometimes that doesn't even matter.  Sometimes all you need is a...well, nevermind. 

[larrym]

I hope that Goddell and the NFL get this garbage under control soon.  The last thing I want to see is for the NFL to degenerate into a hip-hop thug culture like what happened with the NBA.

I agree with you that Goodell should get this more under control, however the NFL is much worse than the NBA and always has been.  We know the NBA players much better because there are less of them, and we know their faces.  Eighty percent of the NFL players are faceless robots.  When you see them out, or hear about them in trouble, most people have no idea who they are.

[77ncaachamps]

And to quote another member...

And, why do we care about this on an MU basketball board...??

I wonder why this thread didn't bother him?!?

BTW, it's about time the NFL, et al "wag their tails"...if the players didn't have a league to play in, they'd be "out of work." Way to get these numbskulls into line!

[muarmy81]

I think it was more a factor of the fact that he was caught speeding at 3:30am.  People trying to stay out of trouble usually aren't out that late speeding, whether they are sober or not.

This is a key point as well as the fact that he made the entire organization look like a bunch of gullible morons.  Everyone from the players to Lovie, to Jerry Angelo, to the president of the team stood by this guy as his life/career started to fall apart and he goes out and gets pinched on a Friday at 3:30 am.  Since the bears are preaching discipline and character importance it was only right that they let him go.  Now they gotta find somebody to replace him unless last year's 3rd round pick Dusty Dvorack can fill the void.

[mwbauer7]

I hope that Goddell and the NFL get this garbage under control soon.  The last thing I want to see is for the NFL to degenerate into a hip-hop thug culture like what happened with the NBA.

As long as we continue to thrown millions of dollars at immature 18-22 year olds, who have no real sense of reality, in professional sports there will be issues with their decision making...

[RawdogDX]

Wow, way to make a 26 year old feel young, old men.   "Nothing good happens after midnight" please.  That is freaking ridiculous.  If they aren't driving or carring guns or starting fights then they have every right to go out, like any other person in their 20's and sleep with as many groupies they can find. (much more than the avg person in their 20's)

I'm all for these athletes getting drivers, i absolutely can't understand how they don't.  And if their reason for needing to carry guns is because they have 80K worth of jewelry on then don't have the bling, don't carry the guns and you'll be all good.  But you people are taking this way to far.  What's the point of being a 24 year old athlete if you can't stay out and have fun.  There are over 1200 professional football players out there, Let's all freak out when one of them gets pulled over.  Pick a group of 1200 random males between the ages of 21 and 30.  How often does one of them get pulled over?  How often does one of them have interaction with the cops?

Also I don't remember seeing a post like this after the white st. louis cardinal pitcher got drunk and killed himself.  That comment isn't directed at anyone specific so don't get bent out of shape. 

[ozmetal71]

First off, I am 25, not an old man.  I like to go out at night too, but I also know that if I'm out at 3:30am, I'm putting myself in more danger of getting a DUI, running into drunken idiots, or other unsavory situations.

Secondly, your attitude reflects precisely what is wrong with these athletes.

Just because you are young doesn't give you a license to be stupid.  I've never gotten a DUI or have been arrested, and I don't stay in praying every night, either.

When you have just been suspended by the league for EIGHT games, and you are on a zero tolerance policy from your employer, driving drunk and speeding at 3:30am is not exactly intelligent.

Money and youth are not an entitlement to be a moron.  And, yeah, a lot of problems tend to happen after midnight when you look at all of the people driving drunk, getting into fights, and other stupid behavior.

 If you are a pro athlete, you can have fun yes, but you are also in the public eye and should be at least cognizant of the fact that you are a representative of a professional sports league and have a responsibility to not hurt your team by reckless and frankly idiotic behavior.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Wow, way to make a 26 year old feel young, old men.   "Nothing good happens after midnight" please.  That is freaking ridiculous.  If they aren't driving or carring guns or starting fights then they have every right to go out, like any other person in their 20's and sleep with as many groupies they can find. (much more than the avg person in their 20's)

I'm all for these athletes getting drivers, i absolutely can't understand how they don't.  And if their reason for needing to carry guns is because they have 80K worth of jewelry on then don't have the bling, don't carry the guns and you'll be all good.  But you people are taking this way to far.  What's the point of being a 24 year old athlete if you can't stay out and have fun.  There are over 1200 professional football players out there, Let's all freak out when one of them gets pulled over.  Pick a group of 1200 random males between the ages of 21 and 30.  How often does one of them get pulled over?  How often does one of them have interaction with the cops?

Also I don't remember seeing a post like this after the white st. louis cardinal pitcher got drunk and killed himself.  That comment isn't directed at anyone specific so don't get bent out of shape. 

all this from the man who slams pints of whiskey and drinks liquid off of Bourbon Street through a straw!

[muarmy81]

Also I don't remember seeing a post like this after the white st. louis cardinal pitcher got drunk and killed himself.  That comment isn't directed at anyone specific so don't get bent out of shape. 

White St. Louis cardinal pitcher hadn't been previously arrested 3 times in 18 months on gun charges, involved with a murder at a local downtown club, jailed for 60 days, or suspended 1/2 the season.  In other words there wasn't a pattern developing with him like there was with Tank

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

I'm not defending Tank Johnson, but the Cardinals pitcher was, indeed, involved in problem behavior before his death. Had been late to games...previously stopped by police at 5:30 a.m., etc.

Tank screwed up. Should have been at home at that hour. However, it seems to me that this cop was lying in wait. What in the hell does "impaired to the slightest degree" mean? Tank got pulled over at that hour because he was black and was probably driving a sweet car. If the blood test comes back negative, the officer should be investigated.

That said, Tank deserved to be cut for using such poor judgement after being given chance after chance.

[muarmy81]

If he was doing 40 in a 25 the officer had every right to pull him over.

And as far as the Josh Hancock's behavior problems I don't think you can call being late for 1 game and being fat a behavioral problem.  And the 5:30 am incident you're talking about was a fender bender he was in while traveling in IL so I'm sure that police will be involved with most accidents.  Even though they found marijuana in his vehicle after his accident he hadn't been arrested prior to that.

[ozmetal71]

Please, don't introduce logic and legal reality to this.

Obviously, this was racial profiling...........yeah...........

If Jesus Christ himself were going 40 in a 25 zone at 3:30am, he would get pulled over.

Cops do "lie in wait" at the time in the morning because the drunks are on the roads at that hour.

[RawdogDX]

If Jesus Christ himself were going 40 in a 25 zone at 3:30am, he would get pulled over.

Well duh! Of course they would pull him over, cops hate middle easterners.

I don't know if this was profiling or not but to say that any athlete who stays out past 12 is showing bad judgement is just plain stupid.

[ozmetal71]

Staying out past midnight for an athlete isn't necessarily bad judgement, but it does increase the chances for bad things to happen.

Athletes need to be more careful than the average person because they are in the public eye and are often a magnet for bottomfeeders who will end up getting them into trouble.

Also, I loved your comment about cops pulling Jesus over because they hate middle easterners.  Made me laugh out loud on a really boring day in the office.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

If Jesus Christ himself were going 40 in a 25 zone at 3:30am, he would get pulled over.

Well duh! Of course they would pull him over, cops hate middle easterners.

I don't know if this was profiling or not but to say that any athlete who stays out past 12 is showing bad judgement is just plain stupid.

I agree that the average 25 yr old probably stays out on the weekends... but these guys have to be smart enough to realize that they are targets... and they are not the average 25yr old. Also, these guys have an incredible amount of resources at their disposal, so they should be able to arrange to get VIP sections, limos, private parties, etc. in an effort to lower their profile and limit their risk of an "incident".

I mean, it's like the company Christmas party for the average person. You can stay and drink, but if you are there after midnight, you are playing with gas. Not many good things happen at company parties after midnight.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

You guys are right. I overlooked the speeding aspect. But if you don't think these guys are pulled over for their looks -- be it their skin color, their clothing, the way they're wearing their hats or the car they're driving -- then you're completely naieve.

Just to reiterate -- he's a goof and deserved the be cut. It's this whole impaired to the slightest degree that gets me, especially when you take into consideration that it's been reported that he was completely cooperative. If he was drunk, he was drunk. If not, why not give the guy a speeding ticket and be done with it? 

[ilovefreeway]

I'm not defending Tank Johnson, but the Cardinals pitcher was, indeed, involved in problem behavior before his death. Had been late to games...previously stopped by police at 5:30 a.m., etc.

Tank screwed up. Should have been at home at that hour. However, it seems to me that this cop was lying in wait. What in the hell does "impaired to the slightest degree" mean? Tank got pulled over at that hour because he was black and was probably driving a sweet car. If the blood test comes back negative, the officer should be investigated.

That said, Tank deserved to be cut for using such poor judgement after being given chance after chance.

At 3am, its hard to see who's in the car until its stopped, so I would hesitate to call race an issue.  Also, I know a little something about law enforcement and let me tell you, anyone doing 15-20 over at 3am is getting pulled over.  Look at the national DOT numbers.  Its estimated that 50% of all drivers after 2am are intoxicated.  At that time of night any reason an officer can pull you over he/she will use.   

[ilovefreeway]

If Jesus Christ himself were going 40 in a 25 zone at 3:30am, he would get pulled over.

Well duh! Of course they would pull him over, cops hate middle easterners.

I don't know if this was profiling or not but to say that any athlete who stays out past 12 is showing bad judgement is just plain stupid.

Staying out past midnight is not bad judgment...staying out past 3am, having a drink or two and driving home only weeks removed from your second conviction and a jail stay when you know your employer is cracking down on any infraction and you just got suspended from work for over 1/2 a year with a chance to knock it down to "only" a 1/2 a year with good behavior...bad judgment.