The Cardinals suspended G.M. Steve Keim for five weeks after he pleaded guilty to extreme DUI. When the five weeks expire, it’s possible Keim won’t immediately return.
Via Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic, owner Michael Bidwill suggested that Keim will be reinstated only if he meets other requirements imposed by the team, including mandatory counseling. Even though Bidwill realizes it’s better to have Keim than not to have Keim, Bidwill seems committed to ensuring that Keim has checked all boxes.
“It’s obviously not a great time to not have your General Manager,” Bidwill said. “Training camp is an important time. He’ll be able to, hopefully, be here for the end of training camp if he completes everything. The whole plan is there is no impact from his absence.”
Bidwill added that the team is functioning well without Keim, and Bidwill remains irritated with Keim’s decision to drive a car after drinking enough to put his blood-alcohol concentration above 0.15 percent.
“[In this day and age there is no excuse to drink and drive,” Bidwill said. “We have Lyft. We have Uber. And there are consequences, not just legal consequences for the person that is arrested. People can be hurt and killed. . . . There is no excuse. I’ve had the conversation with our staff, with our players, to talk about what the expectations are. Everybody can have a designated driver or leave their car at home and take Uber or a Lyft.”
Keim surely will be on a short leash when he returns, and it’s possible that the incident will count against him if/when the team fails to live up to Bidwill’s expectations. As much as he tries, he simply may not be able to get past Keim’s poor decision-making, and that could make it easier to hire someone else to be the team’s chief football decision-maker.