What the Numbers Show About N.F.L. Player Arrests

NY Times ^ | 9/13/2014 | Neil Irwin

[aft_lizard]

Off-the-field violence by professional football players is coming under new focus this week after the release of a video involving the star Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, followed by a bungled response by the National Football League.

But what do the numbers show about N.F.L. players’ tangles with the law more broadly? Are some teams’ players more likely to get into legal trouble? Are arrests rising or falling? What are the most common offenses?

USA Today maintains a database of arrests, charges, and citations of N.F.L. players for anything more serious than a traffic citation. Maintained by Brent Schrotenboer, it goes back to 2000 and covers, to date, 713 instances in which pro football players have had a run-in with the law that was reported by the news media.

Continue reading the main story RELATED COVERAGE

A fan in an altered Ray Rice jersey before Thursday’s game between the Ravens and the Steelers.Ex-F.B.I. Leader’s Ray Rice Inquiry Poses RiskSEPT. 11, 2014 The Phillies’ Brett Myers pitched in Boston shortly after being charged with assaulting his wife. The charges were dropped.Ray Rice Is an Outlier: Most Domestic Abuse Suspects Play OnSEPT. 11, 2014 Roger Goodell needed the latest Ray Rice video to clear up the ambiguity of the incident.Sports of The Times: In Ray Rice Case, N.F.L. Sees Only What It Wants to SeeSEPT. 10, 2014 Commissioner Roger Goodell asked Robert S. Mueller III to conduct an independent investigation of the Ray Rice case.Roger Goodell Asks Former F.B.I. Director to Investigate Ray Rice IncidentSEPT. 10, 2014 In his letter to N.F.L. team owners, Commissioner Roger Goodell wrote, Sports of The Times: Roger Goodell and N.F.L. Right a Wrong, but Only After Further Review

[onedoug]

If I were him, I’d get out of the NFL, fast.

[Calvin Locke]

I'm no longer interested in watching most team sports.

However, I'm mixed about Vick. Giving somebody the opportunity to change from a negative "lifestyle" to a civilized one should not be dissuaded.

[Vaduz]

They need to change the name to National Felon League 50% are.

[FlingWingFlyer]

Dressing the players up in pink every October doesn’t seem to be working.

[Gay State Conservative]

For some fresh air take a look at Russell Wilson of the Seahawks - they don’t come any better as a man and role model.

I googled Russell Williams instead of Russell Wilson by mistake and got this.This isn't the guy you're talking about is it?

For the record the creature pictured is the Canadian Air Force officer who killed women and stole their underwear.

[Huntress]

I think there’s more to it than that. Badly behaved players are usually guys who have always gotten a pass when they’ve misbehaved because they’re talented athletes.

[SeaHawkFan]

Placido was an idiot, but he only hurt himself when he shot himself in the leg accidentally.

[dainbramaged]

That would be NO.

[SeaHawkFan]

When Lateral Spewell choked P.J. Carlson when with the Warriors, you might recall that not one member of P.J.’s previous team, the Portland Trail Blazers, criticized Sewell.

P.J. was an arrogant a-hole back then and no player liked him. Don’t know if he has changed since then.

[SeaHawkFan]

Don’t know the details, but Russell Wilson and his wife are divorcing.

[Hot Tabasco]

Did you hear on the news that Jayru Campbell, the Cass Tech high school quarterback who assaulted a school security guard last winter was just arrested hours after being released from jail for assaulting his girlfriend in the school hallway.....?

This dumbass had been recruited by Mich. State for 2015 (but lost it) and now he gets arrested a second time.......

He's nothing but a thug who will likely end up in prison for good......

[Cementjungle]

Back in the 1980's I lived in the Philadelphia area (where I grew up) and there was a guy who grew up in the same circles as many of my cousins and friends. He was an arrogant jerk, but still was at a lot of the local parties and things.

At the time he was selling cocaine to several of the Philadelphia Eagles, and was always complaining about how they would always come pounding on his door at all hours of the night looking to score... they were always drunk and obnoxious.

Finally, one of them got busted and ratted him out. His dad was a judge so he got off, but did lose his administrative job with the local (West Chester) police department. He's been painting houses ever since.

[stevio]

Did you see the article linked off Drudge the other day? How a lot of Baltimore fans wore Rice shirts to the game and supported him. Disgusting.

[Veto!]

For years the had been known to screen out potential draft picks simply on the basis of intelligence tests, psychological profiles, and a player’s attitude/demeanor.

Good for the Giants. Teams don't need to hire criminal types, who are essentially losers.

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

Now correlate this arrest data base with Chicago, Baltimore, and Detroit crime and arrest statistics. The problem is low intelligence and poor impulse control both biologically based.

[Alberta's Child]

I’m not sure about that, but that’s a very good question. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if that was the case.

[Alberta's Child]

Idiot or not, I’ll bet the Giants front office threw a party after he shot himself because that gave them all the leverage they needed to cut him from the team. He was an @sshole who regularly showed up late (if at all) for practices and team meetings, and in any other business he would have been fired about two days into his first job.

[Straight Vermonter]

...over the nearly 15 years that the USA Today data goes back, the 713 arrests mean that 2.53 percent of players have had a serious run-in with the law in an average year.

Which means the players as a whole are actually a little less likely to get in trouble than non-players of the same age.

[cripplecreek]

Jayru Campbell went to jail the day he got out of jail. Just another "unarmed teen"

video of the incident that sent him to jail in the first place

Report: Detroit Cass Tech football star Jayru Campbell back in trouble hours after being released from jail

The little feller will be getting lead treatment before he makes 20 years old.

[big'ol_freeper]

And the Vicekings win!!! What a surprise.

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League Average

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