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Paul Daugherty
Enquirer columnist files news and observations

Paul Daugherty
Paul Daugherty has been an Enquirer sports columnist since 1994 and has been chronicling Cincinnati sports since 1988. He has covered almost every major sporting event in America, as well as five Summer Olympics. Along the way, he has been named one of the country's top-5 sports columnists four times, and Ohio columnist of the year on seven different occasions. Last year, he was voted 2nd-best sports columnist in the country, by the Associated Press Sports Editors.

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Thursday, April 03, 2008

Chris Henry

Just read Curnutte's story on the Bengals waiving C. Henry. I guess now is when I'm supposed to write how sad it is that such promise and talent has been squandered etc etc

Well, forget that.

Some people truly want to change who they are, or at least the perception of who they are. And some just don't care. Henry is among the latter. Most of of us would have lost our jobs after the gun-waving incident in Orlando. Most of us would have surely been dismissed if we'd admitted having underage girls drinking in a hotel room we'd rented. Maybe, most of us wouldn't have the audacity to say to a valet (according to the valet), "Pick it up, b----'' after tossing a $10 bill on the ground.

Civility isn't difficult, is it? When your choices are (A) act like a human being of (B) lose your high-paying job, you'd think your decision would be simple.

For Henry, it was. He chose B.

See ya.


62 Comments:

at 11:20 AM Blogger paulc said...

Amen.
Glad they stood up and did what they did.
Shame it's two years too late.
And Lewis has to quit playing tough guy in the press and go and talk to Johnson and sort that situation out in person.

 
at 11:24 AM Blogger House of Cards said...

like McConnell said this morning, just look at the guy's picture, it says it all. Lights are on, but nobody's home.

 
at 11:25 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Chris Henry is the reason why we as taxpayers build state prisons.

 
at 11:28 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Like you, Paul, I'm going to keep my response simple and concise:

Amen to that.

 
at 11:35 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Good riddance. Here's hoping he gets expelled from the league now, too.

 
at 11:36 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

You seem pretty happy Doc. I guess you figure that Henry is just one less person white people dont have to be jealous about because he has more money and fame than you do. Lets celebrate

 
at 11:39 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

OK, sure, he is a talent, but just like anyone else with talent (as you said so gracefully), they need to think before acting. I agree wholeheartedly on everything you said and the very first thing that came to my mind when I heard the news was, "it's about damn time."

Now someone is trying to tell me the Bengals are planning to trade C. Johnson the day before or after the draft. There are arguments for and against a trade, especially now since Henry has been dismissed, but I just don't see it happening for that very reason. I have been told, "the Dayton papers are reporting it." Well, I don't see anything on the DDN website. So if such a thing is going to happen, it hasn't hit the airwaves yet.

 
at 11:41 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

The Village Idiot in black and orange no more. Thankfully. Now he can devote all of his time being a street punk.

Robert Young
Milford

 
at 11:54 AM Blogger Paul Daugherty said...

someone please tell me 1136 is a plant

 
at 12:00 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

yeah, that's it 11:36. actually, chris henry probably has more infamy than Doc, but I think Doc actually has more fame. and with all Henry's legal fees and likelihood he won't be getting a check anytime soon, Doc probably also has more money. so, try again you racist fool.

 
at 12:02 PM Blogger Unknown said...

Paul, plant or not, 1136 is an idiot. Surely he thinks Marvin Lewis had no knowledge of the decision? I would bet that if Lewis had gone to bat for Henry that Henry would still be here. All Lewis would need would be a reason.

And there wasn't one.

Henry acted like a criminal jerk, and he got a criminal jerk's reward.

How could anyone possibly be surprised by this?

The sad thing about this is that the Bengals are more interesting off the field than on.

Any way to waive Mike Brown for crimes against fans? for extorting money from us at the threat of a franchise?

 
at 12:06 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Doc, please tell me you are not that naive regarding 11:36? I know you trend towards the liberal side of the aisle, but that is the attitude that is so pervasive out there now. Thanks to guys like Rev. Wright spewing from the church that whitey is out to get the black man, there will be that attitude. That attitude is truly sad!

 
at 12:08 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow, so predictable and yet still so sad. My office, believe it or not, had been talking about having an office pool about when his next offense would occur and what it would be, but we were too slow to fill out our brackets.
A wasted life is never a funny thing but going forward the final destruction will be more private.

 
at 12:17 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Where's Stanley Wilson these days? In jail.
I don't expect Henry's fate will be much different.
Say what you will about Odell Thurman but the guy has a real addiction problem yet still seems to realize the opportunity given to him to play a game for millions of dollars. Henry never grasped that it's a privilege.

 
at 12:29 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Paul,
Why offend plants by comparing them to 11:36? I like plants, can't say the same about small minded bigots.

Robert Young
Milford

 
at 12:38 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

11:36 is even dumber than Chris Henry.

 
at 12:45 PM Blogger House of Cards said...

OK, Paul, I'll tell you. 11:36 is a plant. I'm pretty sure he is a ficas, but then again, he might just be common ragweed.

 
at 12:57 PM Blogger Unknown said...

Amen!!!! It's about time!

 
at 1:05 PM Blogger Unknown said...

The Bengals made a move once they had no choice. There were several other times they coud have waived Henry and didn't. I guess a WR who can't play in games isn't valuable.

The longer I live the more I realize talent will only take you so far. Don't ge tme wrong, it's important. But talented people who are unreliable and troubled are a waste of time.

 
at 1:11 PM Blogger News Record Sports said...

How in the world can someone find racism in this? Absolutely absurd.

 
at 1:30 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

there's always gotta be one idiot (or a lot more these days) who will turn anything into a race issue.

 
at 1:38 PM Blogger Kantspelwrite said...

Now really, did any of this really surprise anyone? When I saw it on the news for the first time, I just sort of shrugged, sighed, and took another sip of coffee and wondered who will be next.

It is really hard to change people's nature. My wife has been trying for 40 years and it ain't working. What makes anyone think you are going to change the nature of these guys after you draft them, make them millionaires, and strap on an orange helmet with black stripes. If they were a jerk in kindergarten they are still a jerk after you draft them! Did you ever go to a class reunion, the old jerks are still jerks. The Bengals need to do a better job of drafting quality people as well as quality athletes.

 
at 2:01 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

As an African American I will state that I feel the Bengals went far beyond what they needed to do providing Chris Henry with many chances. Even the legal system gave him some breaks to straighten his life out. What Chris has done is beyond dumb. The young man appears to have mental issues. As for 11:36, I am not sure their race but ignore the idiot. They are just trying to get attention. Unfortunately, we will be hearing about Chris in the future and I don't think it will be good. Paul, I love your articles and it is very few people I would have a beer with in the media but you are one of them.

 
at 2:47 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Question: What's higher than Chris Henry?

Answer: Nothing

 
at 2:48 PM Blogger House of Cards said...

amen, 2:01. thank you for being a voice of reason.
Too bad. This kid could have gone far, but he can look in the mirror and see where he fell short.

 
at 3:05 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

While I realize the futility in calling out Marvin Lewis and Mike Brown, but you still have to do it. Why, exactly, did it this long to make the right decision? This was not a "close call." Chad Johnson is a close call. THIS has been a no brainer decision for years, if only we had a General Manager with the knowledge, understanding, and testicular fortitude to make good football decisions.

Can you even IMAGINE Chris Henry playing for Paul Brown?

AJ

 
at 3:49 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

I don't pity Chris Henry, I sit here just as unemployed as he is, but without ever earning a 6 figure paycheck for playing a sport. With his talent, it could have just as easily been 7 or 8 figures. I know the difference between right and wrong. The Bengals did the right thing. I still think you should feel a little for his family - but if they cared about their and his future, they would have followed him everywhere he went and locked him inside his house every night.

 
at 4:16 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Henry should thank Mike Brown, now he can pursue being a punk full time without football as a distraction.

 
at 4:37 PM Blogger oldtimer said...

"We had hoped to guide him toward an appropriate standard of personal responsibility that this community would support and that would allow him to play in the NFL. We acknowledge those fans who had concerns about Chris; at the same time we tried to help a young man." quote from Mike Brown

There you have it. A classic example of enabling. We were gonna save him from himself. Such a heart of gold, Mike. Uhhh, where was that heart when you held up the city and county by threatening to move and spent millions in court to protect your feifdom on the river?

Mike Brown, social engineer of the year....Yay! Some people never learn, and I'm not talking about Chris Henry.

The next Chris Henry Return Watch will be conducted next fall. It will be in front of a prison.

And the Bengals fall deeper into the abyss brought on by the reign of Mike Brown and family. What a complete and utter joke.

 
at 5:08 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

It's ok too feel sorry for someone that doesn't "get it" and loses the opportunities he has. He got what he deserved, but obviously, it's too bad.

 
at 5:34 PM Blogger BtotheU said...

Henry gets arrested for fighting some scumbag in Clifton Heights...I say get that man a badge and gun and clean up this town!

 
at 5:41 PM Blogger russ said...

I just wish I could've been on the same floor in the dorms as Chris Henry and Pacman Jones when they were at West Virginia. They must've had some WILD parties!!!

 
at 6:03 PM Blogger anti-media said...

Paul, I ask where is the rage toward M.L.? He allows ghetto behavior on and off the field,no clue of control.This implosion will continue until this arrogant,incompetent,misfit is run out of town. Why has the media given Lewis a free pass ????

 
at 6:30 PM Blogger Tom said...

Good riddance. It's sad, true. But still good riddance. And long overdue. If we're gonna lose all the time, let's at least lose with players of high character. Then at least we don't have to be embarrassed about the team during the off season.

Don't misunderstand. Personally I'm convinced that high character players have the pre-requiste discipline to win, and more importantly, to prepare to win. Give me Anthony Munoz, Cris Collinsworth, Boomer, and the like instead of the thugs and me-first crop we've drafted these past few years anyday.

 
at 7:03 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

I guess saying you can take a boy out of the hood but you can't the thug out of the boy is too insensitive to post...

 
at 8:52 PM Blogger Cheviot Sports Authority said...

This is baseball season. I am sick of the Bengals rotten soap opera. My Bengal support has turned to apathy.

 
at 9:32 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

The latest Enquirer story says Chad Johnson was causing problems in the bar too..tearing things up. Off duty cop reported this...Nice. Keep it classy Bengals.

 
at 9:35 PM Blogger Unknown said...

Cedric Wilson is available.

 
at 9:49 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Didn't Chad sound a little drunk during his ESPN interview? Just a thought after reading that report

 
at 9:58 PM Blogger a.turtle said...

P.D., I found it interesting that it was Mike Brown, and not Marvin, who very quickly and emphatically stepped forward and dropped the hammer on this absurd saga. Is there an underlying message? I don't know, but it's one of the few times Brown has been a voice of the franchise since Marvin arrived.

 
at 11:14 PM Blogger Mike said...

Anyone see/hear the interview with Chad Johnson on ESPN? Wow, talk about a classy group of receivers...

 
at 12:10 AM Blogger JerBear said...

I am with cheviot in that my love for the Bengals has turned to apathy. I don't care what goes on until the season starts. Don't care who they draft, or how they do in mini-camps or preseason!

Once the season starts I'll be a diehard fan, but they simply aren't worth spending too much time thinking about with what's been going on in and around the franchise.

With all that being said, I am talking about them a bit now. haha


Anyway, I find it kind of funny that people (local and national media) are giving the Bengals credit for cutting Chris Henry.

I know there probably many fans like myself who thought they should have cut him before last season.

I don't doubt his talent, and he could have really helped the Bengals on the field, but fans and most importantly the Bengals administration were so enamored with his talent that they didn't realize that his presence was actually hurting the Bengals on the field in my opinion.

Can you believe the Bengals were actually depending on Henry to give them a boost to make a run at the playoffs when he came off his suspension.

Instead of developing someone else for the 3rd receiver position these last few years, the Bengals were depending on a 5 time arrested man to save their inconsistent offense.

It was a good decision for the Bengals to finally cut Henry, but it took too long, and it makes you once again question the judgement of those leading the Bengals franchise.

 
at 12:38 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey Doc!

Why didn't anyone (like 11:36) call the media racist when folks like Mike Brown, Sam Wyche, Dave Shula, Bruce Coslett, Dick LeBeau, Adam Dunn, Mike Stanton, Kyle Lohse, Gary Majewski and a few others along the way felt the wrath of the media and the fans?

 
at 7:18 AM Blogger bodacio said...

Joe Blanton!

 
at 7:29 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Doc,for politically correct reasons only he knows,is protecting Henry by not posting some comments here that he finds offensive,though they plainly are not.There's a secret list of words that Doc can not tolerate.
They include the words: boy and hood.
Perhaps Doc thinks the use of "boy" hearkens back to Jim Crow and determines the meaning to be "racist".Well...a LIBERAL like Doc would automatically "go there" .
"Hood" must be inflammatory as well.Maybe "community" is acceptable to Doc...who knows.

 
at 8:08 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Now we are hearing that Chris Perry and Domata Peko with with him Saturday night tearing up a night club.

Perry seems to be well enough to be our clubbing....

Why do we need him? I doubt that he has much value on the market, maybe they could get a late pick for him.

Peko might actually fetch something, a third rounder maybe.

It's take the Bengals too long to deal with Henry, but now maybe they will show that they are really serious.

Prediction: Within a year, Henry will either be in the penitentuary or dead.



Peko, I just don't understand.

 
at 8:22 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Request for Doc,

The Bengals are boring.

Let's talk about the Reds. Write something outrageous. Start a rumor. Pen a retraction about trading young pitchers.

As I said, the Bengals are yesterday's news even before tomorrow comes, if you know what I mean.

 
at 8:38 AM Blogger Paul Daugherty said...

the beauty of the blog is I dont have to shine a light on stupidity. I let the stupidity do it for me.

 
at 8:41 AM Blogger stopint said...

...and you think about a guy like david pollack who probably had the game taken away from him and then a guy like henry who just gave it away himself...

 
at 9:30 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

i knew Cincinnati was a very conservitive town but i didn't think it was this racist. paul , some of the post on your blog are so offensive it makes you look like a racist redneck. This can't be the "best" of our city. Some of these people have to be 700wlw listners.

 
at 9:31 AM Blogger Anonymous said...

Oh, i agree. I sometimes like to think 11;36 as a Ficas that grows in the middle of my garden and flourishes into the talk of our pretty little neighboorhoods. (the neighboors would say its a fake ficas, but only because they are totally jealous and theres wilted by june)

Carson Palmer will be MVP (just sayin)

Mike from Option A

 
at 9:36 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

IS JEFF BRANTLY WHINING AND SCREECHING IN HIS TARDISH DRAWL ABOUT EDWIN ENCARNACION NOT BEING A CLUTCH HITTER, FOLLOWED BY EDWIN HITTING ONE INTO THE SEATS FOR A GAME WINNING HOME RUN THE GREATEST MOMENT IN CINCINNATI BROADCAST HISTORY?

The answer is maybe.

 
at 10:58 AM Blogger Anonymous said...

11:36 and 9:30

I thought about this "short and soft" (not long and hard- im not as stupid as my posts may show) Waiving a gun, buying minors alchohol, Possession of Weed (i dont think it is that harmful but it is against the law), and Punching a kid in the head at a friggen night club. Who would really support that. Its not like we bash because what he does is illegal, that isnt entirely the problem. HE WAIVED A GUN AND PUNCHED A DUDE IN THE FACE!!! What does WLW have to do with that. I wont lie, I have had my share of grass on alchohol when i was young. I never threatened or actually hit a dude in the face because i knew i had a job on the line (mine only pays 5 figures) and i wasnt that stupid or that much of a chump. I am not doubting that who ever got punched may have deserved it but why arent the other players in these situations this often. (keep in mind 80% of the other players are african-american) Please before you pull the whole race card or WLW act (i am not much of a fan of WLW for similar reasons) keep in mind of what he did to get himself into these situations. Hey as far as i am concerened if that was Carson Palmer (who will be MVP) i would say the same things. Good try though, love the effort. What kind of plant do you think 11:36 is?

Palmer will be MVP (just sayin)

Mike from God (he made me and you, apperently he thought we could handle the whole skin thing)

 
at 11:44 AM Blogger House of Cards said...

Mike from God/10:58: I'll take a whack at it, 11:36 is a STINKWEED.

 
at 12:21 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Chris Henry is a jerk, but another club will pick him up.
This is good news for Chad Johnson.
The Bengals cannot expect to win this year without Henry and Johnson. They know this. May make Brown rethink the big picture. Henry could be a Bengal again and the Bengals could redo Johnson's contract.

 
at 1:11 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Gotta love the guy's who anonymously cry racism because people are tired of Chris Henry's act.


I suppose the anonymous guys don't notice that the people criticizing Chris Henry are the same people who have been excited and supportive about Cueto, and Brandon Phillips in Paul's other blogs.

Henry is a punk, it's not his race. It's the way he lives.

 
at 1:56 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Chris Henry had the opportunity to make more money than all of us will ever see in a lifetime...for playing the game of football.

I think it's a safe bet to say that almost all the posters on here, regardless of their opinions, work hard to make a living.

Chris Henry seemed to work harder at trying to NOT make a living. Best of luck to him in the Arena or Canadian football leagues in the future.

Does this mean the Bengals keep Chad now? No. Trade Chad Johnson. The situation may get better temporarily at some point, but let's say the Bengals disappoint again in 2008 (a distinct possibility). Chances are, Chad is unhappy again. And older. Which means, less marketable when it comes to dealing him in terms of what you get back in a trade.

I am a Bengals fan living in NYC. If the CJ drama were taking place here, the papers would eat it up, a la Chad's cousin Keyshawn Johnson. But it's Cincinnati. It's not a tabloid town, and I think it's safe to say that the fans and the media grow tired of this garbage. The Bengals have been disappointing with Chad...what are the chances things get THAT much worse WITHOUT him?

 
at 2:05 PM Blogger Cheviot Sports Authority said...

NFL will banish Henry. Bengals releasing him means nothing. He wasn't going to be playing anyway. Who the hell doesn't know that?
ST CSA

 
at 6:57 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Trade Chad for what ever you can get for him - 5th round pick?

Mike/Marvin trying to man-up (finally) is pathetic. Keeping him is suicide. The whole team will quit on them.

 
at 7:03 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for the "news flash" CSA. Fact that Mikey had no choice has already been posted multiple times. Keep 'em coming.

 
at 1:25 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Maybe Chris Henry isn't so crazy or dumb afterall. Maybe, he figured this was the only way he could get out of playing for the Bengals. Who knows, getting kicked out of football and possibly going to jail might be preferable to playing for the Bengals and Mike Brown et al. Who knows, Chad might try this strategy next. nothing else seems to be working.

 
at 8:11 PM Blogger Unknown said...

Seems Henry is not the only idiot!!

http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/nfl/arrests.html


Goodell is going to be a busy man...

 
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