APCowboys nose tackle Josh Brent currently faces intoxication manslaughter charges in the wake of the death of teammate Jerry Brown. But Brent remains on bail and, technically, able to work.
The Cowboys have resolved a potentially delicate situation regarding Brent’s right to continue working by shifting him to the non-football injury/illness list, according to Ed Werder of ESPN. The move, as Werder explains, gives Brent access to the team facility and support from the organization.
The biggest threshold question is whether the Cowboys will pay Brent; under the CBA, the team has the discretion to determine whether or not a player with a non-football injury or illness will continue to receive his salary.
Either way, the move defers for now the question of whether Brent will be disciplined by the team or the league. Though the team technically has no ability to impose a suspension on its own, the Cowboys can — as long as Brent and the NFLPA choose not to fight. (That’s precisely what happened with the Steelers, who suspended defensive lineman Alameda Ta’amu two games after his DUI arrest.)
If (when) Brent pleads guilty to or is convicted of intoxication manslaughter, the league surely will step in. The precedent was set when the NFL suspended receiver Donte’ Stallworth a year, after he pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter.
For now, perhaps the fair outcome is to not pay Brent three games during his time on the NFI list, which makes is a non-suspension suspension. And it allows the NFL to later impose a real suspension, unless Brent avoids criminal responsibility for Brown’s death.
Ask the Brown family if this really matters.
“Non Football Injury”? I guess when he got drunk, flipped his car and killed his friend his little brain rolled out his ear. You need a couple of brain cells to play football. Not a lot but, some.
I’d recommend Brent seeing if Jones would be willing to donate his salary to the Brown family directly or a charity of their choice. Judges prefer to see remorse in these situations, and although it is sad to say Jones would like the publicity he would get from the agreement.
So there is this story. There’s the story of the woman telling everyone how Brent’s this horrible guy and should not be caled a hero (when no one was calling him a hero in the first place) but wheres the story about Jerry Brown’s family requesting Josh Brent meet them at the Airport, ride with them during the funeral, and sit with them during the memorial. Or them telling brent that he’s like a son to them and they know it was a mistake. Or that Brent and Brown were best friends, college team mates and room mates, and room mates when this happened. Or how Brent pleaded with Garrett to get Brown on the team.
What Brent did was horrible. It’s something he will have to live with the rest of his life. He killed his best friend. Let’s just talk about his discipline and some lady calling him out over some BS that she really shouldn’t even be commenting on.
Just cut him.
Wow! He killed a guy and he’s still on the team?
How can you write that the Cowboys have no ability to impose a suspension? The Steelers JUST suspended Mendenhall yesterday for conduct detrimental to the team.
It’s kind of moot. We’re talking about 3 game checks which at his salary isn’t much. He is going to jail for at least 5 to 8 years, So I don’t think the league will need to worry about any discipline.
He and every other player who has committed any serious crimes should be banned from the NFL for life. It’s a privilege to play, not a right. If you can’t act like a responsible grown up, you shouldn’t have the opportunity to live that life and be a role model for children. I don’t care who they are or what team they play for. They should be gone.
I hope he gets everything that’s coming to him…
Is there a player designation on teams for Murderer?
This POS should never see the light of day let alone play football.He killed his best friend or so he says.Refused to help get him out of a burning car.He is nothing but scum. The Brown family should sue him for everything he has and ever will have.My bet is that he will do no time.He will get a lawyer that will somehow convince a jury that Brown was at fault.Only in America can you kill someone and walk away.He will get his someday and I hope it is soon.
man, when a cab would have cost him $50-$100 bucks depending on how far away he has to go. now it’s gonna cost him a couple millions, not to metion the fact he killed his buddy
The most upsetting thing is that every NFL team offers FREE car service to their players. He didn’t even have to pay for a cab. Make the call and your best friend is alive. Choose to drive and he is not.
“Only in America can you kill someone and walk away.”
No, I am pretty sure this happens in a lot more country’s than just America. As for the crime itself, if this doesn’t wake people up on the dangers of drinking and driving (not that this tragedy should be what teaches something that already should be known) I don’t know what will.
They can’t just cut him if they want to try and get money back. The team might be able to file a grievance and collect money they already paid him too. But yeah I think it’s pretty safe to say he’ll never collect another dime from an NFL team, so now it’s about getting everything out of him that they can to make an example out of him to deter others from the same type of behavior.
Jerry Jones is a marketing guy and a businessman, so I would imagine he would not miss the opportunity to take the lead in speaking out about the growing concern of NFL players killing people or putting themselves and others into deadly situations. He will probably want to be the hero and use that to gain clout for future use and to eliminate problems before they happen to somebody else.
As a Cowboy fan I think Brent needs to be cut! I swear if this idiot is on the team next season I am done. Say what you will, it’s the second time he was behind the wheel clearly not learning anything the first time, but this time he took his best friends life. ,his dumb ass should still be in jail, but I see an outcome like Dante stall worth where he’s only going to get probation and allowed to continue living his life where Jerry Brown doesn’t get that chance.