On the Tank

The kid is obviously troubled. It was a minor thing when he was arrested for telling a cop he would kick his ass. It was a minor thing when he brought a handgun into a nightclub.

Photo @ CNN/SI (click for story)

Then he gets arrested and the Gurnee police chief says that the children were in danger. Loaded guns. Accessible to children. And you know what? He would have missed this one game, and then come back and played through the playoffs.

The NFL wouldn't have suspended him until the legal system ran its course (Ricky Manning Jr. knows as well as anyone).

From a Bears perspective, it's a distraction, but nothing maor. Hey, I'm a sucker for 4rth chances. And it wouldn't really have cost him or his team that much to miss the game against the Bucs - or even the rest of the year.

He had to spend much of Friday answering questions about his arrest. He had some time to reflect on how he was living, the choices he was making. So what did he do? He talked to his boyhood friend, roomate and 'bodyguard,' and they decide to go out on the town that same night.

At this point, I'm struggling to think of what the logic was. "Hey Willie, I wanna get drunk and forget how stupid I've been. But it's not good enough to get drunk at home, let's go out in public the day after the arrest."

What happens? He gets harrassed and his roomate gets killed. And according to the Tribune, he initially lies to police about being there.

It does not matter if 'he's really a good guy.' It does not matter if he grew up in a bad neighborhood or what the circumstances were behind the shooting. It does not matter that he's troubled. It does not matter how good a player he is, or what his cap number is, or how thin his loss would leave the Bears. He has to be gone.

I don't care if he's cut, or just sent home for the season. If the Bears want to help him out, I think that would be a great idea. Just as long as he's not around Halas Hall.