With
the arrest
of Miami wide
receiver Chris
Chambers this past weekend, some might
start to wonder if the Dolphins have evolved into
Bengals over
the off season.
Chambers, a 2005 pro bowler
and star of, ahem, my fantasy
team, was picked
up in
North Carolina
for driving while impaired, reckless
driving, and
speeding on July 14th.
With the arrest, Chambers is now
the third
Dolphin to
be taken into custody this year.
If eight more Dolphins find themselves behind bars, they will pass the
Cincinnati Bengals and lead the league in most (jail) yards
gained. Besides Chambers, Fred Evans,
a defensive tackle
with Miami, was
arrested on
June 23
for trespassing, resisting arrest with violence, disorderly conduct, and battery on
a police officer. Joey Porter, the Steeler turned
Dolphin, was arrested
for a March conflict where
he was accused
of punching
Levi Jones,
an offensive lineman for the
- go
figure - Cincinnati Bengal.
Porter was
eventually charged with a misdemeanor.
So, there you have itare the Dolphins taking a
page from the Bengals and - in lieu
of evading sacks and tackles - focusing their
time on evading the
law? Well, not exactly.
To being with, this is a
first offense for Chambers: before Saturday,
his professional record was
completely clean. He also - according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel - passed a breathalyzer
test while at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police
station. While
he certainly shouldn't have
been doing any kind
of drinking and
driving, he can chalk his arrest up to a
mistakeand NEVER
do it again.
Fred Evans offense, a violent crime,
wasn't as benign, and this wasn't overlooked by the Dolphin's coaching
staff. In the aftermath of his arrest, Evans found himself unemployed: Miami let him go. Cam Cameron, the head coach, released a statement saying, "We will not condone this
type of
behavior. I assure everyone it will be dealt with seriously." And seriously dealt with it was. Good for Cam for standing by his word, and his morals.
Joey Porter's arrest for hitting Levi Jones
makes me think that neither party was innocent. When you have football players, packed with testosterone, and add the element of alcohol, these things will happen. Still,
Porter is a bit of
wild card and someone Cameron should keep
an eye on.
Porter has not only spat out accusations of cheating,
(jokingly?) said he was going to give George Bush a
piece of his mind, uttered homosexual slurs, and been voted
one of the
NFL's dirtiest players, but he also owned two dogs
who killed his neighbors miniature horse. How, exactly, does that kind of thing
happen? Nonetheless, for now you can chalk Porter up to a talented player with a lot of passion (if not
too much)
who likes to run his mouth, and sometimes puts his foot in it.
He's hardly the first NFL player to get in a fist
fight and he won't be the last. Porter and Chamber
don't quite deserve to be labeled Bengals just yet. As for Evans, well
maybe Cincinnati has
an opening.
Jennifer Jordan is a senior editor for
http://www.milleniumlimo.com. An avid
sports fan, she likes the Miami Dolphins but her heart belongs to the Denver Broncos.