Oh Henry!

Cincinnati Bengals’ Wide Receiver Chris Henry is charged with three felony offenses, each of which contain the word 'firearm'. Not sweet. My favorite is 'improper exhibition of a firearm'. Awesome. I guess that means pointing a gun in a threatening manner towards a group of dudes on a street constitutes an 'improper exhibition'. This also implies that there is a 'proper' way to exhibit a firearm. Does this include firing a pistol into the air to ring in the New Year? Can I carry a gun around if it is in a holster? Can I point a gun at a friend if it is part of a hilarious prank? I am brimming with questions.

There are also a lot of questions surrounding Henry’s future status with the Bengals. I only have one: how is his knee? He was carried off the field in a first-round playoff game against Pittsburgh. How’s the rehab going? Will he be ready for training camp?

The guy is first-round talent with a middle-round contract. He’s fast. He has good hands. And he is the third receiver so he doesn’t have to think that much. He just has to run routes 20 times a game. Yes, he has a proclivity towards criminal behavior. Who cares? Nobody listens to the 3rd receiver. So what if he is not a ‘good’ person. I don’t care. I don’t care about any of our players, really. They are not my friends. I don’t have to hang out with them. I just want the orange and black to win on Sunday. And Chris Henry helps them do that. Hell, if we let him go, someone else is going to pick him up and if he finds success it will be a great feel-good story for a slow day on ESPN. If he messes up again, fine. Kick him off the team. No harm done. I think his contract will become void so it won’t affect the team’s salary cap.

The only thing I cannot forgive is the word that Henry was wearing his #15 Bengals jersey during his fateful night in Orange County. (not the ‘OC’, but the lamer Orange County of Florida) I just cannot believe that this is true. An athlete should only wear his own jersey, when not actually participating in a sanctioned professional contest, for three events:

1. Visiting Children’s Hospital
2. Filming commercial for local auto dealership
3. Media day before Super Bowl that athlete is playing in

Looks like a jersey to me...

There is no excuse to wear your own jersey out to a nightclub under any circumstances. None. If this turns out to be true, I order Marvin Lewis to kick him off the team immediately for an improper exhibition of your own jersey. I mean, come on. You have to set limits.