Add one more name to the list of celebrities headed to rehab. Benglas linebacker Odell Thurman was just sentenced to six days in a drug treatment facility for a drunken driving arrest this past September. (He pleaded no contest to the charges.)
The sentence seems Biblical in its proportions. (Odell will indeed have the seventh day off.) But the judge made this ruling because Thurman has already spent January through April in a treatment program at Medical University of South Carolina, followed by a month-long intensive outpatient treatment where he met with counselors daily. After that, he started doing construction work...in case the NFL denies him reinstatement. With three violations of the league's substance abuse policy and Commissioner Roger Goodell's recent crackdown on off-field misbehavior, that is a risk Thurman faces.
But Bengals coach Marvin Lewis indicates the team might welcome Thurman back if the league signs off.
Thurman may deserve another chance. He cannot get it with the Bengals. Lewis has taken on too many damaged individuals during his tenure. The result was a highly publicized span of nine months where nine Cincinnati players were arrested.
And Lewis may have gotten by...even with rebellious players on his roster...if he had just been more willing to take a firm hand with them.
Lewis even sounds like a man in denial. When asked about whether he gets to talk football anymore, or if everyone asks about the Bengals off-the-field situation, Marvin replies, "I don't know what 'off-the-field' thing you're referring to."
When asked about his track record? "Our track record over four years has been very good."
He maintains if the team is adhering to the best practices policy and, "things happen, then they're going to happen."
But most alarming, when he's asked about his team, he says, "It's not my team. I'm just the coach."
Lewis would never accept this attitude from one of his players, unless you can imagine Carson Palmer saying, "It's not my time. I'm just the quarterback." Or imagine if Lewis demanded that a receiver make a block, and that wideout responded with a shrug and the retort of, "Not my job."
How can Lewis demand his players try to push past their own personal boundaries to score that touchdown, catch that pass, run for that first down, make that tackle; when at the same time, Lewis seems all too willing to embrace the limits on his ability to monitor the team?
Until that attitude changes, nothing else will.
Jessica White
Tatiana Golovin
2009 Turkeys Of The Year
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Marvin Lewis is the face of the team. For the most part, papers don't print pictures of owners, it's usually the coach. If the Bengals (or any team for that matter) want to change their image of having criminals and thugs, they have to change the personnel, no matter what the cost. If that means losing for a season or two, then you'll have to take the hit to get it done in the long run. From the comment of "it's not my team. I'm just the coach," it sounds like he's not making some of the personnel decisions, or someone is overriding those choices.
Red Zone
Total Comments (2382)
I'd like to see whewre you came up with that, "its not my team, I'm just the coach" quote. Marvin Lewis hasd been instrumental at turning around a franchise with a history of losing and being the laughingstock of the league. And I should know being a fan since the mid-seventies. Yes, the Bengals have taken chances on players with charcacter issues and it has caused them problems in the past. The league and the Bengals are working hard to correct things and I am certain that they will. Another thing about Marvin is that he has been an incredibly positive force in the Cinicinnati community through his foundation and other charitable efforts. As for Thurman not getting another chance with the Bengals, you are being short sighted and just flat out wrong. It seems to me that he has the opportunity to be the poster child for redemption, he has no further arrests, is complying with the leagues substance abuse program and if his reinstatement is granted he has every right to try and earn back a spot on the Bengals. I for one will be rooting for him and the Bengals.
DavidSternBlows
Los Angeles , CA
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Just to answer the question above: the quote comes from Marvin's interview with Dan Patrick on ESPN Radio. The interview is still posted online for anyone who cares to listen to it.
Lori
Pickerington , OH
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