[LUconn]

Odell Thurman has not been reinstated and will therefore be suspended for another year. So he missed 2 drug tests, and got a DUI and it's mounting up to a 32 game suspension. That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. I know you guys will probably laugh, but the man has it out for the Bengals. As if a 15 year exodus from being above .500 wasn't enough to overcome. I'm so ticked off.

[Innocent Bystander]

Yeah, how come the NFL is picking on such a fine upstanding group of citizens like the Cincinnati Bengals?

[LUconn]

Just keep pushing what you read on message baords and what ESPN tells you.

[SuperJon]

So they really didn't have their whole team arrested?

[LUconn]

no, we've gone through this before. ESPN will tell you there were X amount of arrests but what they don't include are charges that are dropped, cleared or the fact that it's like 3 idiot players that keep doing it and some of them aren't with the team anymore.

[RagingTireFire]

Odell Thurman has not been reinstated and will therefore be suspended for another year. So he missed 2 drug tests, and got a DUI and it's mounting up to a 32 game suspension. That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. I know you guys will probably laugh, but the man has it out for the Bengals. As if a 15 year exodus from being above .500 wasn't enough to overcome. I'm so ticked off.

Yeah, that's exactly the same as killing millions of people.

In other news, the Papa John's guy forgot to give me my cheese sauce again. Papa John's guy = Pol Pot.

[RagingTireFire]

Just keep pushing what you read on message baords

Isn't this a message board? Well, I don't know what to believe now.

[4everfsu]

Straighten out the black tiger marks on the Bengal helmets and you will have what looks like prison bars

[LUconn]

Hi RTF, this is my friend hyperbole, have you 2 met before?

[RagingTireFire]

Hi RTF, this is my friend hyperbole, have you 2 met before?

Yes, in fact I have. When I met him, was just running around screaming about random things. However, I got together with my good friend, Irony, and we killed Hyperbole, then ate his liver with a nice chianti.

[shukcb04]

i think goodell should just let all the players get away with everything instead of showing some backbone and punishing people. keep letting these hoodlums get away with stuff it will turn in to a slippery slope and the league will be thought of as a hoodlum league like waht people view the nba.

[Fumblerooskies]

i think goodell should just let all the players get away with everything instead of showing some backbone and punishing people. keep letting these hoodlums get away with stuff it will turn in to a slippery slope and the league will be thought of as a hoodlum league like waht people view the nba.

That's the spirit...tongue planted firmly in cheek. You're catching on, fellow Hornet.

[LUconn]

i think goodell should just let all the players get away with everything instead of showing some backbone and punishing people. keep letting these hoodlums get away with stuff it will turn in to a slippery slope and the league will be thought of as a hoodlum league like waht people view the nba.

Your sarcasm would be hilarious if you had read any of the facts of this particular situation. 2 years not playing football can ruin a player's career. Can you say that a 32 game suspension is fair for the violations that have taken place, with a straight face? It's completely unheard of. Especially with the likes of PacMan getting 16 games with the possibility of getting that reduced with good behavior.

[Knucklehead]

Suspend the entire Bengals team! I'm all for it. Hey RTF How was that Hyperbole Liver? Did you grill onions too?

[Innocent Bystander]

The worst part about Goodell is the way he tricked Odell Thurman into missing the two drug tests and then drinking and getting behind the wheel of a car. The guy is just plain evil.

[Knucklehead]

It's a Company run like a company. NFL players should be treated no differently than we would be. Go Goodale!

[LUconn]

The worst part about Goodell is the way he tricked Odell Thurman into missing the two drug tests and then drinking and getting behind the wheel of a car. The guy is just plain evil.

I guess next time I get pulled over for speeding, I won't complain if I'm strapped to the table having lethal chemicals injected into me shortly after. When rules are broken, there are indeed punishments. But those punishments need to be fair in comparison to the infraction(s). This is determined not only by the severity of the crime, but also precedent. How many times was Ricky Williams reinstated for violation of the substance abuse policy (which is the actual rule broken, not a DUI)? How many games did Shawne Merriman get for testing positive for steroids? Odell broke the rules and was punished accordingly for it. He has followed every one of the requirements asked of him for reinstatement since his suspension. Another 16 game suspension is just over the top. Especially with no further explanation. Did the commish just decide on a whim? Flip a coin? I only hope the Player's Union has something to say about it.

[RagingTireFire]

Hey RTF How was that Hyperbole Liver?

Tasted like chicken.

[Innocent Bystander]

The problem with citing precedent is that the precedent was set by a different commissioner. The treatment of Ricky Williams has been an absolute joke and Goodell is apparently no longer going to hand out slaps on the wrist. That a key player on your favorite team is being made an example of is unfortunate for your favorite team, but is probably in the best interest of a league that obviously needs to have some order restored.

[ALUmnus]

You guys are all completely missing the point. This punishment does not even closely fit the infraction, especially when the punishment has already been served. I'm not a Bengals fan, but this really doesn't make much sense, unless something's going on that we don't know about.

You can all keep dogpiling on the Bengals, but it has turned into one of those "truths" that if you say it enough times, it becomes true. That's how ESPN makes it's living.

[LUconn]

I beleive the Merriman situation was under Goodell. Also, no I wouldnt be talking about this if he played for the Steelers. In fact I'd probably be laughing at it. But that doesn't change the fact that it is an unjust punishment. The commish can't just arbitrarily make a decision to "make an example" when Thurman fulfilled all of the requirements given to him for reinstatement. Magnified by the fact that since nobody has noticed this case (thanks to Vickmania), no example is being made. Hopefully he'll turn to the NFLPA to object.

[Innocent Bystander]

32 game suspension for DUI and 2 missed drug tests does seem excessive until you consider that the league has to treat missed drug tests as failed drug tests. if you treat them differently and have a lighter punishment for missing a drug test than failing one, players that are taking drugs would never take a drug test.

[ALUmnus]

Which is why he was suspended, LAST YEAR.

[Sly Fox]

Its much easier to make an example out of the Odell Thurmans of the world than the superstars. And its even easier when the franchise involved is from one of the smallest markets. Would anybody expect Goodell to act similarly with a more famous member of the NY Football Giants? Personally I wouldn't. He's trying to look tough and its coming across as petty to me.

Cincinnati native & longtime Bengals fan

[RubberMallet]

the punishment is a tad ridiculous...