In an absolutely incredible and almost unbelievable story of athlete stupidity, Andre Smith, Offensive lineman for the Cincinatti Bengals was arrested at Atlanta’s Hartsfield Jackson International Airport yesterday. No, its not the fact that yet *another* Bengal was arrested, at this point no one should find that shocking. Its the complete and utter stupidity of what he was arrested for that boggles the mind.
Smith was arrested after his carry on bag was x-rayed and TSA officials found a loaded .38 caliber handgun in his baggage.
How stupid can you be to try to bring a gun on an airplane? Really Andre Smith, you thought that this was legal? You thought that you’d be able to bring a gun onto a commercial airline? You thought that you wouldn’t get caught? And not just a gun, but a loaded gun at that? Really? The ESPN guys should give this the C’Mon Man! of the Year Award.
The ignorance here is amazing. Especially for a pro athlete who is a regular air traveller and really should know the rules about what you can and can’t bring onto an airplane. Andre, you play in the NFL, you take 10 road trips a year, minimum (8 regular season, 2 preseason road games). Yes, I know, these are chartered planes, but even on chartered flights, passengers still have to go through TSA Screening.
How can you possibly even think that this was ok, or that you’d be able to get away with it? Do you live in a bubble where you haven’t known that these are the types of simple and common sense airline regulations that have existed even long before 9/11 changed the way we travel forever?
However this isn’t the first time that Andre Smith was clearly not thinking. A highly touted prospect coming out of college, and the potential #1 overall pick in the 2009 NFL draft, Andre Smith showed up at the NFL draft combine completely out of shape and with the biggest set of man-boobs ever seen at the event. His performances in athletic testing were embarrassingly bad, and while he was still drafted 6th overall, he cost himself millions of dollars in a signing bonus and guaranteed contract money simply by being the aspiring pro athlete who showed up completely out of shape and unprepared for an event that would determine the course of his future, and the millions he would receive just months later. This came on the heels of earlier character questions when the Alabama Crimson Tide suspended him for the 2009 Sugar Bowl (a game they would lose to Utah).
However that pales in comparison to the latest episode which could potentially lead to either jail time, or a heavy fine, and will certainly be reviewed by Roger Goodell under the league’s player conduct policies. A suspension without pay, and more lost dollar bills seem to be an extremely likely event for the huge lineman.
…. and thats the last word.
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