The Bengals selected RB Joe Mixon in the second round of the NFL Draft, and Cincinnati-based WCPO-ABC is "urging every Bengals fan to take drastic action" and donate prospective ticket money "to a nonprofit that works to prevent violence against women." The station in an editorial wrote the Bengals have "gone too far" in drafting Mixon, who had a notable domestic violence dispute in '14. Over and over, the Bengals have "drafted, signed and stood by players with troubled legal backgrounds or other concerns that make them less-than-stellar role models." But the Bengals drafting Mixon "is disgraceful." Apparently Bengals Owner Mike Brown, coach Marvin Lewis and Bengals management "think winning is all that matters" (WCPO.com, 4/29). In Cincinnati, Jim Owczarski wrote the Bengals have "made it clear they are ready for what may come their way as the video of the punch is replayed over and over nationally, locally and socially." And not all of it "will be positive." Lewis said, "I don't know who isn't disgusted at what they saw. But that's one day in the young man's life." Owczarski noted this decision was "mulled carefully by the Bengals and involved all facets of the organization" (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 4/29).
REAP WHAT YOU SOW: In Cincinnati, Paul Daugherty wrote the Bengals have "forfeited any and all rights to the word 'character' as a descriptive." They have lost "all remaining sympathy from anyone who still believed Cincinnati’s miscreants were no different than any other team’s miscreants." They have "perpetuated an image and they have done it willingly." Daugherty: "Who are the Cincinnati Bengals today? What sort of connection do you feel with them?" The Bengals "own Joe Mixon now." They "deserve everything they get" (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 4/30). USA TODAY's Tom Pelissero wrote the Bengals are a team that "just doesn't care what anyone thinks." Brown has a "track record of taking on players other teams reject for character reasons" that is "unparalleled." But because of how their owner operates, the Bengals are "uniquely impervious to the public fallout that made plenty of other NFL teams decide before the draft began that sticking their necks out for Mixon just wasn’t worth it" (USATODAY.com, 4/29).
