Chad Ochocinco has made it known this week that he might wear Chris Henry’s #15 jersey against the Chargers this Sunday as a tribute to his fallen teammate. If he does, the NFL has given no indication that it won’t fine Ochocinco for a uniform violation.
Earlier today, George Atallah of the NFL Players Association announced on his Twitter account that the “NFLPA will cover any fine levied on @OGOchoCinco imposed by the league and match it with a gift to our Chris Henry memorial fund.”
Seems like a classy gesture, but XPRS-AM reporter Marty Caswell in San Diego reported today on her Twitter account that not all NFL players apparently were in agreement with the NFLPA announcement:
As far as NFLPA saying they’d cover Ocho’s uni fine, that’s news 2 the player reps I talked to who termed it absurd & haven’t voted on it.
Caswell is a seasoned reporter on the Chargers beat, so I have no doubt that what she posted is true.
Was that the kind of reaction from the players most of us were expecting? Of course not.
There’s probably very few issues that all NFL players agreed about, and apparently Ochocinco’s expensive possible tribute to Henry is no different. That doesn’t mean that most players don’t support the gesture. I would think most probably do.
What will also be interesting is the NFL’s reaction to the NFLPA’s announcement. The move to cover Ochocinco’s fine is most likely not merely a heartfelt gesture but also a not-so-subtle jab at the league office - with 2011 collective bargain agreement negotiations looming.
The NFLPA knows that it’ll look bad enough to the public that the league office plans to fine Ochocinco, with the union countermove only making things worse for Roger Goodell & Co.
And as Mike Florio at ProFootballTalk.com points out, this could be a pre-emptive p.r. strike by the union against the league to gain favor with fans and media as 2011 CBA talks approach.
7:28 pm on December 19th, 2009
Tribute to Henry my ass. I’m throwing the bullshit flag on that one. It’s a tribute only to the egocentric mind of Ochocinco. It’s designed to draw attention to him, and perhaps make the league office look bad when they fine him for a uniform violation. He’s a million dollar talent with a fifteen cent brain.
7:29 pm on December 19th, 2009
Nice picture of Marty Caswell. Interesting looking lady.
She have any ties to Tiger Woods?
These days, you just never know……………….
7:31 pm on December 19th, 2009
“He’s a million dollar talent with a fifteen cent brain.”
Actually, Sidewinder, you’re incorrect.
Chad Johnson is a million dollar talent with an eight (Ocho) five (Cinco) cent brain.
Therefore, Chad Johnson’s intellectual abilities top out at 13 cents. You gave Mr. Johnson two cents too much mental talent.
Just my two cents there.
Not Mr. Johnson’s.
7:34 pm on December 19th, 2009
Of course, I should add that I have assumed the addition of Mr. Johnson’s eight to his five.
No mathematical sign exists between Mr. Eight Five’s last name.
Perhaps there’s really a subtraction sign there, which would make Mr. Johnson’s intellectual skills a mere three cents.
Perhaps there’s just a multiplication sign there, giving Mr. Johnson a net mental worth of 40 cents.
Or maybe, just maybe, there’s a division sign between Mr. Johnson’s Ocho and Cinco, meaning that his intellectual talents are worth just 1.6 cents, or two cents if we’re rounding up to whole numbers.
That Mr. Johnson is an idiot, of course, goes without question.
7:49 pm on December 19th, 2009
I’d like it better if the refs wouldn’t let him play while wearing 15. Ref: “Look, Ocho, the only 15 on the roster sheet belongs to a dead guy, and since you’re walking around, you ain’t him. So either get into an Ochocinco or you’re off the field today.” That would be better than fining his stupid ass, especially if it isn’t coming out of his own money.
9:21 pm on December 19th, 2009
you guys are the ones with the 8 cent brains
RIP #15
2:40 am on December 20th, 2009
Chris Henry would have wound up dead sooner or later anyway.
With his rap sheet and his priors, Henry had sentenced himself to death. Only question was a matter of when.
Least he didn’t devolve into another Rae Carruth.
11:33 am on December 20th, 2009
Looks like Eight Five’s Expression of Remorse is going, gone, good bye.
ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter (what the hell is an NFL OUTSIDER, someone who doesn’t bow to Jerry Jones?) has reported (if you can call reading a Palm Pilot or Blackberry reporting) Sunday morning that Eight Five has scrapped his idea to where Henry’s number. (Would that have been Henry’s uniform number or his police blotter number - the latter of which there are several?)
Schefter, of the West Bank Settlement Schefters who dine twice a week with Avigdor Lieberman (think ‘Bama redneck with a Russian accent - Adam Sandler he ain’t), said Eight Five ditched the Look At Me! Look At Me! Buy My Book! Buy My Book! venture because it had become “more of a distraction.”
Isn’t Eight Five’s sole goal in life distraction? The guy’s crazy about money and attention. If there were money and attention in death, Eight Five’d throw himself under a truck.
Schefter also reported (after a bagel with lox) that Eight Five’s also said that the dear, departed, often-arrested and suspended Henry, the Junior Rae Carruth of Roger Goodell’s NFL, would not want his publicity stunt and Sarah Palin book tour gimmick to continue in such a manner.
Since when did Eight Five ever give a damn about a teammate or other human being? Something about Eight Five just ain’t right. Sure as heck isn’t the holiday spirit or any sort of decency. Perhaps Eight Five has taken one (or 10) too much shots to the head on those crossing patterns he keeps ducking?
11:56 am on December 20th, 2009
“Eight Five” is one of the best team players in the game, if anyone ever payed attention to the Bengals, you would know that
12:55 pm on December 20th, 2009
There’s no doubt that Ocho is an awesome. There’s also no doubt that he’s a jackass.
12:56 pm on December 20th, 2009
Awesome talent, that is. My error.
10:23 am on December 21st, 2009
There are so many other deaths far more “tragic” then Chris Henry’s. Please stop celebrating the death of this thug while ignoring the thousands of other deaths of people who contribute more to society than he ever did.