Bills: “We Always Value Character”

In the wake of safety Donte Whitner’s recent arrest for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest in Cleveland on the heels of running back Marshawn Lynch’s guilty plea to a misdemeanor gun charge in California, the Buffalo Bills are engaging in a bit of damage control. According to the Associated Press, Bills General Manager COO Russ Brandon attempted to quell the tide of bad publicity by describing the Coast to Coast incidents as aberrations. Whitner and Lynch’s brushes with the law followed safety Ko Simpson being arrested in South Carolina on New Year’s Day outside of a bar for allegedly interfering with officers’ attempts to arrest his friends. “Any time there’s a negative light shone on this organization, it affects everybody at One Bills Drive,” Brandon said during the Bills’ draft luncheon. “Any locker room is a microcosm of society. We’ve got 85 players on this team and 150 people within this organization, and to say that you’re not going to have a problem crop up here and there, I think, is ignorant. ... “The fact of the matter is simply this: When something goes awry, like we had in the past month, it’s on Page 1. But we all know, all of us, our community service and all the different things that our guys do on that front, you’re lucky to get a story on.” Brandon was emphatic that the Bills do take character issues into account when evaluating draft prospects. “It’s taken very seriously as an organization,” Brandon said. “We always value character. It goes into the overall operation of our draft and everything we do here when evaluating a player. Much like you look at vertical jump and a 40 time, you look at that aspect as well.”