PSR Showdown
Does the NFL Have a Problem With Player Behavior?
By Jerry DiPaola
Pittsburgh Tribune Review

A Big One

The San Diego Union-Tribune has an ongoing data base on the Internet that tracks every arrest or citation of an NFL player -- beyond speeding tickets -- from 2000 through whatever day you happen to see it.

I found it April 12 and discovered that only the day before a Miami Dolphins fullback named Reagan Mauia was charged with punching a man in the face and knocking him out in a restaurant parking lot in Florida.

The newspaper's study states that there have been 383 arrests or citations of NFL players in the past eight years and 3 1/2 months. A disclaimer notes that the number has grown dramatically in recent years because of increased media coverage. There were 36 in 2004, but 66 in 2006. Less than one-third of the way through this year, there were 21. The Union-Tribune admits that the study may not be comprehensive because of unreported incidents and elusive public records.

In other words, yes, the NFL has a problem, and it may be worse than it appears.

Closer to the top of the list than to the bottom are your Steelers, who have had 12 since 2000. Only 11 teams had more.

To be fair:
*  Simple assault charges against Santonio Holmes and James Harrison were dropped.
*  Najeh Davenport was found not guilty of domestic violence, child endangerment and unlawful restraint charges.
*  Prosecutors decided two months ago not to pursue the case against former linebacker Richard Seigler, who allegedly ran a Las Vegas prostitution ring.
* Cedric Wilson's girlfriend said he only shoved her and never punched her.

Those cases don't excuse the situation. Perception -- even if it is inaccurate -- often is seen as truth. If we think you did it, you did it.

Players need to be more diligent about staying away from trouble, even if a good attorney or scared victim frees them from a life behind bars.

The NFL has a problem that won't go away unless arrested players are prosecuted, found guilty, sent to jail and kicked out of the game for good.