The Cincinnati Bengals turned heads when they picked Joe Mixon in the second round, and now the team’s owner is defending the pick in a letter to fans.
In the days that led up to the 2017 NFL Draft, one of the questions out there was which team was going to take former Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon, a player with great talent on the field but a checkered past off of it. The Cincinnati Bengals answered the question in the second round, selecting Mixon despite just days before having settled a civil case with a woman who was seen on tape punching in 2014.
It was that incident that made Mixon one of the most polarizing players in the draft, which made him perfect for a Bengals team who has not looked the other way from indiscretions of several other players — including current starter Adam “Pacman” Jones. The team has been dealing with backlash from some, including a local TV station saying fans should boycott the Bengals.
Team owner Mike Brown is responding to that, writing a letter in the Cincinnati Enquirer that is entitled “We took a risk on Mixon.” In it, Brown defends the move and believes Mixon has earned a second chance:
"While the circumstances that led up to the incident are unclear – what is clear is that it is unacceptable for a man to strike a woman.Since the incident three years ago, Joe was suspended by the football team, pleaded guilty in court, and accepted the consequences of his actions.In making our decision, we took a risk. In this case, the risk has an upside as well as a downside. We believe Joe has put this behind him and that he can turn into the player and community member that creates a plus for Cincinnati."
This is a delicate subject since we are talking about someone who was caught on camera abusing a woman. Most of the beef with his “suspension” in 2014 was the fact that it was his first year and, in essence, the Sooners used his redshirt season as the suspension thus meaning he didn’t really lose any playing time during that suspension.
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If Mixon has truly turned the corner and learned something — perhaps becoming someone who becomes an outspoken leader against domestic violence in Cincinnati and elsewhere — then the Bengals should give him a deserved second chance. However, they should move forward with a zero tolerance policy toward Mixon.
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