Thurman DENIED!

[DC_Bengals_Fan]

But on a more positive note....I no longer feel like the lone voice mocking Goodell's tough guy act.

I don't know how that's a positive, I'd like to think that this result overshadows your own personal vindication.

In any event, you're right - I've certainly jumped of God-dell's bandwagon. Thought it was a good idea when he started, but there needs to be some discretion.

[J24]

Is it safe to say that this is the biggest news story in cincy.

[BengalByTheBay]

Bottomline is this Godell does not want any more bad publicty for the NFl face it people the same thing is going to happen henry dont expect him to be back. The NFL is in a tough situation right Now with vick and they only care about the bad publicity and not the good people in the Leauge. Odell basically reinstated at the wrong time and is now paying Vicks PRICE.

If that truly is the motivation -- wouldn't the most rational (self-interested) approach be to drop the hammer on Vick in a huge, public manner? No, the best approach is to continue to say that Vick's situation will be monitored to allow him due process while continuing a policy (which is actually a non-policy, because a policy has some guidelines) of punishment which in no way fits the "crime." If the only explanation given was "ongoing problems" which can only relate to an incident which resulted in no arrest and could have been completely fabricated, then Goodell's policy can't really act as a deterrent. When you don't know what could happen for any given conduct, you're basically back to the point at which there is no policy at all. "Something bad" might happen depending on when the report comes out is not a deterrent.

The bigger problem here is that Goodell thought he could get tough for a little while and the boys would drop into line. Now that this has clearly failed and one of the biggest names in the game is up for offenses that are potentially both criminal and horrible from a public relations standpoint -- Goodell does as little as he can get away with. Telling Vick to stay away from training camp is the best punt we will see all season. What the hell is that? It's not a suspension, but it's not nothing either. In short, now that Goodell has the very public opportunity to put his money where his mouth is (as opposed to the apparently quite effortless act of handing out huge suspensions to unpopular players) we can see that he's completely in over his head. He's not tough at all -- making his prior lip service to the ideal very transparent.

[DesperateDerelict]

Is it safe to say that this is the biggest news story in cincy.

Nothing is "safe" anymore. God help us if Carson gets busted for littering during training camp.

[redsbengalsbucks]

Well since I have calmed down a bit, I want to look on the bright side of Odell's situation.

At least he was not being counted on and replacement players are in camp to battle for his spot on the roster.

He was not banished for life and may yet play for the Bengals and redeem himself with the fans.

Last but definetly not least he is not being advised by Jim Brown. If this happens he is doomed to become the next victim of Jim's distorted view of the world. I wonder if Clarret still considers Jim Brown to be a good advisor?

[Stripes]

I guess I'll wait for Emperor Goodell to explain this before I let myself get too pissed. It smells like bulls**t though.

[TippCityRick]

Doubt it will do any good, but I just sent an email to the address listed above looking for an explaination. I'll post any response I get but I'm not expecting any.

Roger.Goodell2@NFL.net

Mr. Goodell,

I'm not sure if this is the correct email address but it's the only one I have. I implore you to publicly give some kind of reason for the extension of the suspension for O'dell Thurman. At this time the extension looks to be arbitrary and excessive.

Fans in the Cincinnati area are confused and a bit irritated that there was no reason attached to the announcement this morning. If Mr. Thurman failed to live up to the terms of his year long suspension then I believe most of the fans will back you. Mr. Thurman demonstrated last year by getting a DUI while on suspension that he failed to realize the seriousness of the terms of that suspension, and most Bengal fans backed the decision to extend that suspension to a year long term.

However it appears at this time that the only reason for this extension is for his alleged involvement in an incident in Georgia where there were no charges filed. Hopefully this incident is not the reason for your decision to extend Mr. Thurman's suspension as allegations can happen for a myriad of reasons and don't always reflect actual circumstances.

Thank you for your time in addressing this email. I am a season ticket holder in Cincinnati - have been since 2000. A response would be appreciated.

Sincerely,

Rick Johnsen

[J24]

Some clearification Odell was made an example of according to Chris mortison of espn when he said on NFL Live "Just because you were suspended for a year does not mean you can get back to The NFL you have to earn your way back and you have to be squeaky clean in your 12 months". Looks like the Party did him in but If your an NFL Player aren't you a little Worried that if someone thats not credable can say you did something has more credability then you arent you a little peaved by this. It is Clear that Godell has the Back of the Sponsors more than he does of the NFL players.

[COB]

Like most everyone, I wanted Odell back. But I'm on board with the decision and here's why:

The NFL lives in the same world everyone else does. The league has eyes and ears, and right now the world of sports, particularly professional sports, is imploding. This implosion is attributable to the refusal by individuals to comply with the law, the rules of their sport, and just generally accepted common decency and morals.

The NBA is getting dragged through the mud - cheating scandal. Baseball looks corupt and stupid - steroid scandal. Cycling couldn't look worse - drug and blood scandal. Track and field is almost a joke now - repeated drug scandals. Olympic sports are laughable - steroid and doping scandals.

Losing Odell hurts. But the message is clear and I agree with it: To play in this sport you have to act like a decent human being.

[J24]

Like most everyone, I wanted Odell back. But I'm on board with the decision and here's why:

The NFL lives in the same world everyone else does. The league has eyes and ears, and right now the world of sports, particularly professional sports, is imploding. This implosion is attributable to the refusal by individuals to comply with the law, the rules of their sport, and just generally accepted common decency and morals.

The NBA is getting dragged through the mud - cheating scandal. Baseball looks corupt and stupid - steroid scandal. Cycling couldn't look worse - drug and blood scandal. Track and field is almost a joke now - repeated drug scandals. Olympic sports are laughable - steroid and doping scandals.

Losing Odell hurts. But the message is clear and I agree with it: To play in this sport you have to act like a decent human being.

Who says he wasnt though I mean yeah i guess you could say the Party incident but with that being said if you look at the information we got of the party you can also say that's a classic case for extortion. Bototm line is this the NFL is in a tough situation with vick but It Should not affect other player posistion like I belive the NFL DId.

[BengalByTheBay]

Like most everyone, I wanted Odell back. But I'm on board with the decision and here's why:

The NFL lives in the same world everyone else does. The league has eyes and ears, and right now the world of sports, particularly professional sports, is imploding. This implosion is attributable to the refusal by individuals to comply with the law, the rules of their sport, and just generally accepted common decency and morals.

The NBA is getting dragged through the mud - cheating scandal. Baseball looks corupt and stupid - steroid scandal. Cycling couldn't look worse - drug and blood scandal. Track and field is almost a joke now - repeated drug scandals. Olympic sports are laughable - steroid and doping scandals.

Losing Odell hurts. But the message is clear and I agree with it: To play in this sport you have to act like a decent human being.

This may surprise you, but I agree with you completely. As such, the league's failure to take a strong stand on Vick, Porter, and every other of the huge number of players arrested this offseason (which very specifically does not include Odell Thurman) bothers me. I have no problem with a "get tough" policy that is consistently administered. The league does not have to wait for anything to be proven to suspend Vick. It's failure to do so is clearly motivated by the prior popularity of the player in question and the degree to which the league has promoted him. Those should not be considerations if you are getting tough, sending a message, blah, blah, blah.

[TippCityRick]

And that's fine . . . IF THERE IS A REASON BEYOND SOME DRUNKS SAY HE HIT THEM AND THEN PULLED THE CHARGES!!!!!!!!. I am in agreement with this extension if O'dell DID something. But if he DIDN'T DO ANYTHING ADDITIONAL TO JUSTIFY AN EXTENSION then what would be the motivation for any suspended athlete to turn it around and meet the terms for reinstatement. All I want is a reason for the extension beyond some unsubtaniated allegations and I will back the extension. In fact I will question why the extension isn't at that point either indefinate or perminate.

[J24]

When defensive ends Bryan Robinson and Justin Smith heard the news, they looked at each other and Smith said, "You've got to be kidding me."

that was a qoute From bengals.com I really think that Bengals right Now are really pissed that godell can do anything he wants without any Explanation i think this story is far from over this year and I see an appeal or greivence comming from the players union.

[HoosierCat]

Say it with me HC -- ARBITRARY! Now doesn't that feel better?

Seriously though, unless there is some fact that we don't yet know about a substance abuse policy misstep, Goodell is living down to my lowest expectations.

I wouldn't characterize this as arbitrary. Remember, Odell's situation didn't come about as part of Goodell's "get tough" policy, but was the consequence of a substance abuse policy that's long been in place, and which has knocked guys out for whole seasons in the pre-Goodell past (see Williams, Ricky, etc.). I think -- I could be wrong but I think -- Odell's is the first reinstatement Goodell has had to make a call on.

However, that said, with this move Goodell appears to have committed himself to a policy of "suspended players have to live like monks." I think there are huge issues with that. IMHO it simply increases the chances that various random a-holes are going to make BS accusations against suspended players (like that kid who said Chris Henry jumped out a car, hit him, and threw beer bottles at him) in hopes of getting some kind of payout.

[HoosierCat]

When defensive ends Bryan Robinson and Justin Smith heard the news, they looked at each other and Smith said, "You've got to be kidding me."

that was a qoute From bengals.com I really think that Bengals right Now are really pissed that godell can do anything he wants without any Explanation i think this story is far from over this year and I see an appeal or greivence comming from the players union.

I don't know that the union can do anything about Odell, probably not. But like I said earlier if the players stop backing Goodell's crackdown and start claiming the rights afforded to them by the CBA, then we are likely to see more grievances filed and more stones shown by the union.

[Jet23]

Unless there is much that we do not know, this punishment is unprecedented in the history of sports. I find it hard to believe, given the amount of money involved, that one of these rulings is not challenged through the court system. This essentially amounts to a 2 year suspension for a DUI received at a sobriety checkpoint.

[The PatternMaster]

Like most everyone, I wanted Odell back. But I'm on board with the decision and here's why:

The NFL lives in the same world everyone else does. The league has eyes and ears, and right now the world of sports, particularly professional sports, is imploding. This implosion is attributable to the refusal by individuals to comply with the law, the rules of their sport, and just generally accepted common decency and morals.

The NBA is getting dragged through the mud - cheating scandal. Baseball looks corupt and stupid - steroid scandal. Cycling couldn't look worse - drug and blood scandal. Track and field is almost a joke now - repeated drug scandals. Olympic sports are laughable - steroid and doping scandals.

Losing Odell hurts. But the message is clear and I agree with it: To play in this sport you have to act like a decent human being.

I'm sorry but can't agree. The way Goodell has handled the Vick situation proves that he his in over his head and he has no rhyme or reason to his actions. How can you justify not suspending a player that has been indicted by the federal government for running a criminal operation across state lines, but you give a guy who smoked some weed and got a DUI a 2 year suspension??? You can't justify it, because it doesn't make sense. Regardless of what NFL mouthpiece says this makes no sense whatsoever and Goodell figures that because Odell is a young player who plays on a small market team that has a rep for being a bad franchise he can do whatever because no one will care. In Goodell's mind he knows he not going to lose any money from fans or sponsers by doing this so why not come down hard on Odell and look like he's doing something about the bad boys of the league, meanwhile PETA is picketing the Falcons training camp and Vick is still not offically suspended by the league.

Can someone tell me why the only player to picketed by a non-profit organization hasn't been dealt with by Sherriff Goodell? Cause he's full of s**t, that's why!!

Not to mention, he reduced Jared Allen's suspension from 4 games to 2 after he got 2 DUI's, once again I ask WTF???

[blueridge]

Although I'm surprised by the length. This is a very clear statement that Roger Goodell wants to clean up the image of the NFL and for that I applaud him. This a big time statement that you better straigthen up or else.

You couldn't be more wrong. The refusal to reinstate Thurman is a big time statement that even if a suspended player serves the full term of his suspension and complies with the league's conditions, the player can still be f**ked. And that royal ass, Goodell, doesn't need to explain why. Goodell shouldn't be applauded, he should be slapped.

[DesperateDerelict]

Can someone tell me why the only player to picketed by a non-profit organization hasn't been dealt with by Sherriff Goodell? ..... Not to mention, he reduced Jared Allen's suspension from 4 games to 2 after he got 2 DUI's, once again I ask WTF???

Because ............................. he CAN! (duh!) Mikey Brown was one of two owners to actively campaign against Good-all (Buffalo was the other), so there are no favors owed here. Also, our Bengals are still, right or wrong, the poster children for the NFL misbehavin' miscreants. Lastly, this action will not affect the net profit line, and might help (it's always better to have small market teams less competitive).

All of this has been stated before (despite Hair's claim as the lone voice in the wilderness): Absolute power corrupts absolutely. With no checks & balances on the commissioner, Good-all will soon be known as God-all (no blaspheming intended).

This ruling is certainly God - awful. Wow - I am REALLY PISSED OFF (& I didn't really think Odell was going to help much this year)

[Kirkendall]

The punishment definitely doesn't fit the crime.

Bad call.

[6,352 curse words removed]

[Kirkendall]

Although I'm surprised by the length. This is a very clear statement that Roger Goodell wants to clean up the image of the NFL and for that I applaud him. This a big time statement that you better straigthen up or else.

You couldn't be more wrong. The refusal to reinstate Thurman is a big time statement that even if a suspended player serves the full term of his suspension and complies with the league's conditions, the player can still be f**ked. And that royal ass, Goodell, doesn't need to explain why. Goodell shouldn't be applauded, he should be slapped.

Wouldn't this be the time the player's union and steps up and actually does some defending of their players???

Or is the leech to the golden boy club still attached?

[HoosierCat]

I do have to hand it to Goodell for one thing, tho. Like a certain KY prosecutor did for Henry, Mr. Tough Personal Conduct Policy has managed to turn Odell Thurman into a sympathetic figure.

[Kirkendall]

I do have to hand it to Goodell for one thing, tho. Like a certain KY prosecutor did for Henry, Mr. Tough Personal Conduct Policy has managed to turn Odell Thurman into a sympathetic figure.

That, and potentially destabilizing the union/owners peace if he keeps handing out non-explanatory career death sentences for a guy like Odell, who's way down the criminals list, IMHO.

[HoosierCat]

I do have to hand it to Goodell for one thing, tho. Like a certain KY prosecutor did for Henry, Mr. Tough Personal Conduct Policy has managed to turn Odell Thurman into a sympathetic figure.

That, and potentially destabilizing the union/owners peace if he keeps handing out non-explanatory career death sentences for a guy like Odell, who's way down the criminals list, IMHO.

Yup. Check the comments from team members in Hobson's last update. The general reaction is: WTF???

[bengalboomer7]

In any other union in the world they would be going crazy. Regardless of the NFL's image, it's get tough policy, or anything, it's the Player's Union's sole job to defend Odell in this, and any(even Vick) situation