Need any further proof that professional sports value production on the field over character away from it? See the Cincinnati Bengals signing troubled wide receiver Chris Henry on Tuesday and you'll get a free lesson in what happens when pressure to win and the value of the dollar overcome good judgment and old-fashioned values.
Henry was released in March after allegedly punching a college student and breaking his car window, just another day in the life for a guy who is no stranger to the legal system. Cincinnati had finally had enough and released Henry on the spot, with head coach Marvin Lewis saying as recently as July 22 that Henry would not return to the team under any circumstances.
Wait...check that. Henry wouldn't be welcomed back unless the Bengals' top two receivers got hurt, and that's exactly what has happened during this training camp. Chad Johnson suffered a shoulder injury in the team's last preseason game and T.J. Houshmandzadeh has missed both exhibition games with a hamstring injury, the type of nagging ailment that can stay with a player for a full season. Cincinnati decided to bring back Henry, something that the team's president, Mike Brown, said would not happen in March.
Did I mention that Henry can't even play until Week 5? That's because he's serving a four-game suspension for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy, his third such ban. Henry's actions alone, which caused a judge to once refer to him as a "one man crime wave", prompted commissioner Roger Goodell to begin his crusade to clean up the league and stop the players' off-field foolishness. Henry was one of the chief offenders, along with Pacman (I will never call him Adam) Jones, that drew Goodell's scorn and forced strong action. Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis had said as recently as July 22 that Henry would not be welcomed back to the team, but now he's going against his word and selling out his own credibility in the process.
But these are the Bengals, don't forget, a team that seems to wear stripes 24-7. Cincinnati had 10 players arrested over a 14-month span, a fact that should allow Henry and his five arrests during his first term with the team fit right back into the mix. Maybe the Bengals can exchange legal advice in the huddle. That's provided that anyone can get a word in edgewise over Johnson's mouthy ramblings. Carson Palmer lived the good life while he was the quarterback at USC, and he must be thinking that this is his penance after helping Pete Carroll put the Trojans back on the map. That was Palmer's version of football heaven -- innovative offense (thank you, Norm Chow), speed to burn at the skill positions, overmatched defenses and some of the world's most beautiful coeds to celebrate with every Saturday night after a big win. Cincinnati must look like hell in comparison -- dying rust-belt city, stuck about as far away from L.A. or New York as you can be, getting ready for a padded cell while praying that all of his teammates can make bail on Saturday night in time for a 1 p.m. Sunday kickoff. Bringing back Henry just moved the Bengals onto the karma police radar, and they always tend to find their target.
