By David Haugh | Tribune reporter
4:35 PM CDT, June 9, 2008
Not long after Cedric Benson showed contrition Monday for his latest arrest, the Bears showed him the door.
The team released the troubled former first-round draft pick Monday as a result of Benson's arrest early Saturday morning in Austin, Texas, on a charge of driving while intoxicated. It was Benson's second alcohol-related arrest in five weeks and enough to convince the Bears he just wasn't worth the headaches.
"Cedric displayed a pattern of behavior we will not tolerate," general manager Jerry Angelo said. "As I said this past weekend, you have to protect your job. Everyone in this organization is held accountable for their actions. When individual priorities overshadow team goals, we suffer the consequences as a team. Those who fail to understand the importance of 'team' will not play for the Chicago Bears."
Lovie Smith, who brushed off reporters earlier in the day after Monday's practice, had no comment.
Second strike for Benson The move came less than an hour after Benson issued a statement he had hoped to make at Monday's organized team activity before he was sent home. The statement, crafted with the help of longtime ally and noted sports attorney David Cornwell, attempted to show remorse for putting the Bears through the latest ordeal.
"I apologize for making the poor decision to drink and drive,'' Benson said in the statement. "Given the incident last month, it was a particularly bad decision. I have no excuse for this lack of judgment. Though I strongly believe that I am not guilty of any crime, I realize that the public and the Bears organization hold me to higher standard. Though my local attorneys will continue to work hard to prove my innocence, I confess to using poor judgment. Please accept my deepest apology."
Cornwell, who often works with clients of Eugene Parker, Benson's agent, got involved Sunday night and has known Benson since his days as a Los Angeles Dodger farmhand.
Even before the two arrests, Benson might have had a difficult time making the team. He is coming off ankle surgery that only added uncertainty to an already unstable football resume.
The Bears drafted Matt Forte in the second round of April's NFL draft to replace Benson, and now that's a certainty.
4:35 PM CDT, June 9, 2008
Not long after Cedric Benson showed contrition Monday for his latest arrest, the Bears showed him the door.
The team released the troubled former first-round draft pick Monday as a result of Benson's arrest early Saturday morning in Austin, Texas, on a charge of driving while intoxicated. It was Benson's second alcohol-related arrest in five weeks and enough to convince the Bears he just wasn't worth the headaches.
"Cedric displayed a pattern of behavior we will not tolerate," general manager Jerry Angelo said. "As I said this past weekend, you have to protect your job. Everyone in this organization is held accountable for their actions. When individual priorities overshadow team goals, we suffer the consequences as a team. Those who fail to understand the importance of 'team' will not play for the Chicago Bears."
Lovie Smith, who brushed off reporters earlier in the day after Monday's practice, had no comment.
Second strike for Benson The move came less than an hour after Benson issued a statement he had hoped to make at Monday's organized team activity before he was sent home. The statement, crafted with the help of longtime ally and noted sports attorney David Cornwell, attempted to show remorse for putting the Bears through the latest ordeal.
"I apologize for making the poor decision to drink and drive,'' Benson said in the statement. "Given the incident last month, it was a particularly bad decision. I have no excuse for this lack of judgment. Though I strongly believe that I am not guilty of any crime, I realize that the public and the Bears organization hold me to higher standard. Though my local attorneys will continue to work hard to prove my innocence, I confess to using poor judgment. Please accept my deepest apology."
Cornwell, who often works with clients of Eugene Parker, Benson's agent, got involved Sunday night and has known Benson since his days as a Los Angeles Dodger farmhand.
Even before the two arrests, Benson might have had a difficult time making the team. He is coming off ankle surgery that only added uncertainty to an already unstable football resume.
The Bears drafted Matt Forte in the second round of April's NFL draft to replace Benson, and now that's a certainty.
