Dolphins Head Coach Joe Philbin said he made the decision to release Chad Johnson based on a "body of evidence" and not the isolated incident of his domestic dispute arrest.
/ J Pat Carter - AP
Domestic violence, DUI's, sex, drugs and Hard Knocks. Seems to be an all to common theme in the NFL these days.
For years professional athletes have seemed to get away with just about anything, but recently the criminal activity has reached a fever pitch in the NFL.
Just look at the hometown team here in Michigan, the Detroit Lions. Aaron Berry released after a DUI, Nick Fairley, Mikel Leshoure and Johnny Culbreath all arrested, and that is just within the last six months.
Chad Johnson's domestic violence arrest in Miami is currently topping this week's most wanted list in the NFL. He has been subsequently released by the Dolphins and who knows if he'll land with another team this season.
Oh and don't forget everyone's favorite dog lover Michael Vick, or Plaxico Burress shooting himself in the leg at a New York City nightclub and spending the next two years in prison.
And don't even get me started on the Cincinnati Bengals, although Marvin Lewis has seemed to get a handle on things in the Queen City.
Gone are the days where the top NFL headlines actually resemble issues that are taking place on the field.
But the real question is why is this type of activity so prevalent in the NFL and not other leagues? How often do you see MLB or NHL players get arrested for DUI's and domestic disputes? You just don't see these types of major criminal disciplinary issues in other sports.
Why is this so? I think it all starts at the top.
Commissioner Roger Goodell has done all he can to crack down with on-field issues, but it's the off-field ones that are beginning to become more of an issue.
Teams have begun to deal with these problems internally, and I commend the Dolphins for wasting no time in removing the Chad Johnson experiment from South Beach.
I do believe that is the only solution, immediatley remove these problems from your team, make it difficult for them to resign with other teams, take away the one thing that makes them feel invulnerable, football.
If teams become more unwilling to give out second, third and fourth chances to these troubled athletes, that would begin to curb the problem.
While it will never go away completely, a foot needs to be put down to start reversing the trend.
Time will only tell is Chad Johnson gets another chance this season. If he does, how long will that last?
