Pushed Down the Mountain Side

The Bengals flag at the Press Box flies at half mast today after management found it necessary to release the beast, Odell Thruman. In a move that will leave many scratching their heads, the Bengals continue to baffle its pundits, its fan-base and even its players with seemingly rash decisions followed by scarce, shadowy explanations.

Why hold on to Thurman for years of suspension and rehabilitation only to cut him loose when he’s at the very end of his road to recovery? Why make the decision when he’s at the funeral of his grandmother and last surviving family role-model? Why not give him the chance to showcase himself on the field where he’s at his best?

Unlike Chris Henry, Odell was reportedly making the effort to improve his decision making. He was addressing his admitted problems with drugs and alcohol and had apparently kept himself in good physical shape. If there was a setback in his compliance of the treatment and testing program either the league or team, or both, had put in place for him, than it would be hard to blame management and ownership of giving up on him. A person can only be helped if they first and foremost want to help themselves.

Of course, the Bengals press release sounds like the work of Pentagon press writers, providing us with the most vague and indiscernible information possible on the matter.

"The NFL provided Odell the opportunity to earn his way back onto our team, but we have not seen the right steps taken by him,"says Marvin Rumsfeld in a written statement.

What is troubling, however, is the next sentence:. "With our offseason work in progress and new talent added at our linebacker position, we've determined it's best to keep moving in a direction that does not include Odell."

This is a crappy thing to say about someone. When the talent level in the linebacking corps is thin, it’s important that we keep Odell sober and address his medical problems, but when we draft and sign some new guys, all of a sudden Odell’s rehab becomes less of a priority. The Bengals care about a persons health only when it’s good for the team. This is the kind of cut-throat competitive attitude we as fans and customers of the NFL demand in our teams, and justifiably so. But in extreme situations like Odell’s, we should all take a step back and realize that these aren’t racehorses, but people, some of which have real medical problems that go beyond the field and the sport. To gauge the danger of a person’s addiction on wins and losses is detestable and I would hope Marvin can show at least some sensitivity on the issue..

I wish Odell the best in resuming his career on another team. It would truly be a shame to not see his tackling ability in action again. I also wish him a healthy, drug-free recovery and the strength to keep it that way.

Mojokong - the sun also rises.