Marvin Lewis Is an Enabler

Sure, I’m one to forgive, but I don’t forget. And I don’t forget what Marvin Lewis initially said before he apologized. Lewis first said this on the Dan Patrick Show:

I think there’s profiling, no question,” Lewis said on the show. “We’re (Cincinnati) a small place – our guys stand out, and they know that, and you’ve got to do things the right way. But when you are arrested for, or you are pulled over for, not putting on your turn signal, there’s something wrong there.

“Many people make right turns without putting on their turn signals and it’s unfortunate that we’ve had a guy that’s pulled over for not putting on his turn signal.”

Later he apologized after he realized the ramifications of his remark. But you know what that signifies to me? It signifies to me that Marvin Lewis is on the side of his players who have committed several crimes — no matter how big or small they have been. Everybody knows the law. Everyone who drives a car knows that they have the potential to be ticketed for even the slightest offense. Anyone can be ticketed for hanging something on their rear-view mirror, making a rolling stop, and not putting their turn signal on. If I get a ticket for one of those petty offenses, it is not an issue of racial profiling. Rather, it is an issue of the police strictly enforcing what appears to be an insignificant rule. It is well within their right to do so.

But for Marvin Lewis to make an excuse, and blame the Cincinnati police department for picking on his players is simply wrong. Marvin Lewis has shown me his true colors, and he has shown me that he is enabling the poor off-field behavior of his players. Yes, it was easy for Lewis to take action when the delinquent men in question were non-roster players like A.J. Nicholson and Matthias Askew. But when it’s someone valuable like Chris Henry or Odell Thurman, he is slow to discipline. And to make matters worse, he makes an excuse for his players. Everyone keeps wondering why there has been a negative spiral of attention associated with the Bengals over the past two seasons. Well, now it appears as if we don’t need to look any further than their head coach as the reason why.