The New York Giants: The Cincinnati Bengals of the Future

by

Jul 13, 2009

There’s a sizable number of NFL teams that seem to be abundantly
flowing with character issues over the past few years. (The Cincinnati
Bengals, for instance, come to mind.)

But the Bengals were so 2007. The Giants seem to have taken their place.

No, Tom Coughlin’s crew hasn’t embarked upon a
record-setting slew of arrests while completely and utterly failing to
perform on the field. But lately, the Giants are making big news for
big, bad reasons.

The Plaxico Burress saga is months old
at this point, although it’s still just as worrisome as it was last
November. One of the faces of the franchise — the guy who hauled in the
winning touchdown in what was one of the greatest Super Bowl upsets of
all time — faced a suspension for accidentally shooting himself with a
gun he happened to be toting during a night out on the New York club
scene. Now, he may not play in 2009, but the jury’s still out.

Meanwhile, while he and Roger Goodell deal with the immediate future, another Giant goes and gets himself suspended for domestic abuse.

Granted, this case is a little bit different because the Giants were fully aware of a domestic battery charge levied against Michael Boley
when they signed him in May. But still — getting slapped with a
one-game suspension before you’ve even played your first game for a new
team is quite a way to make a first impression. The linebacker
allegedly threw his wife Chantelle into a wall and a kitchen cabinet
during a fight.

What’s even more troublesome is the fact that Giants general manager Jerry Reese seems
to be brushing off the incident, telling ESPN.com that it was an issue
that “harmed the reputation of a pretty good [person].”

Isolated incident, maybe. But something that should be dismissed and
accompanied by a glowing character assessment? Really? Just because the
guy has done some charity work?

Everyone raved about Goodell’s response to Donte’ Stallworth’s
drunk driving homicide. They said the commish took a stand where one
was needed and, as a result, strengthened the character of the entire
league.

So here’s a question: What does this say about the character of the Giants?

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