Wow, here's a big surprise. Another one of my Bengals in trouble with the law....AGAIN! 
CINCINNATI -- Cedric Benson already had one legal matter unresolved in Travis County, Texas. He now has another to contend with.
First reported by Ricky Doyle of Your News Now in Austin, Benson was arrested and charged with assault causing bodily injury to a family member early Sunday morning, which is a Class A misdemeanor. The running back was arrested last June in Austin, also for assault, stemming from a dispute outside a bar on Memorial Day weekend.
That trial was scheduled to begin on June 27, but at the request of Benson’s lawyers, it was delayed until Aug. 29, which would come three days before the Bengals preseason finale against Indianapolis.
Whatever comes out of this latest incident, it doesn’t look good for Benson, who will be an unrestricted free agent. The latest arrest in all likelihood would diminish the number of teams who would be in the market for him and he could face a suspension from Commissioner Roger Goodell under the league’s personal conduct policy. Benson was summoned to New York for a talk with Goodell after last year’s arrest but was not suspended.
If you’re the Bengals, you can look at this two ways — the chances of re-signing him became even better, or do you reassess after now four legal incidents in over three years?
Said Bengals spokesman Jack Brennan: “The team is aware of the incident. However, as with most situations of this nature, it would inappropriate for the team to comment until the matter is resolved through normal legal channels.”
The team also can not have any contact with Benson until the lockout is settled.
Benson was arrested in May of 2008 on charges of drunken boating and resisting arrest, and later that June he was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. Following that arrest he was released by the Bears. Benson was cleared of all charges Sept. 25, 2008, and six days later was signed by the Bengals.
Last season, Benson ran for 1,111 yards on a career-high 321 carries with seven touchdowns. It marked the first time he had gone over 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons. In 39 games with the Bengals, Benson has 3,109 yards on 836 carries with 15 touchdowns and 11 100-yard games.
If you’re getting the feeling that it is starting to look a lot like 2005-07 again when it comes to the Bengals and the law, you wouldn’t be too far off. This is now the third arrest involving a Bengal in a week. Adam “Pacman” Jones was arrested at a downtown bar last Sunday for disorderly conduct and safety Marvin White was arrested last Thursday at his home in Louisiana following an incident at a day care center. Since 2005, the Bengals have had 24 arrests. Until last Sunday’s incident involving Jones, they had gone more than a year without a player being charged.
According to the Daily World in Opelousas, La., White was charged with simple assault and disturbing the peace by St. Landry Parish police.
“Marvin White went to a local child care center to pay a bill for his child and he began to be verbally abusive to the management when the manager assumed he was the boyfriend of the child’s mother,” St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz told the paper. “They asked him to leave. He then made threats in front of the children and other adults there toward the management and made comments to his son’s grandmother, who was there to pick up the child.”
White, who was originally drafted by the Bengals in the fourth-round in 2007 and played two seasons here, saw two stints with the club last year. He was signed on Aug. 23 and played in two preseason games before being one of the final roster cuts. He was then re-signed on Dec. 14, following a knee injury to Chinedum Ndukwe, and saw action on special teams in the final three games.
In 2007-08, White played in 27 games with 13 as starts. In 2008, he ranked second among DBs and sixth on the team in tackles with 81 despite missing the final four games after tearing the ACL and MCL in his right knee against Baltimore.
During the team’s offseason workouts last month, White participated despite being a free agent.
After news of White’s arrest circulated, he released a statement through his agent, Kevin Conner.
Said White: “I would like to sincerely apologize for the recent unfortunate situation. I have never been arrested during my career in the NFL. I didn’t make any threats while I was present at my children’s daycare. I have been there on numerous occasions and several autographed photos of myself with my kids are present. In addition, I have been invited by management to engage kids and parents through positive interaction and school activities. I am looking forward to putting this situation behind me.”
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune’s database involving arrests of NFL players, there have been 24 since the lockout began on March 12. The database though does not include White and Benson’s arrests which would push the total to 26.
Story link
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Copy & paste to friend: (Click inside box; Ctrl + C to copy; Ctrl + V to paste)
|
|
read more blogs!
Blogs by StraddleMyNose:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Cincinnati Bengals Benson arrested in Texas |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|