Quite honestly, I am disgusted by the Moral Outcry in our “community” with regards to the behavior of Chris Henry – and the resulting “inactive” status imposed by the Bengal organization.

Now, don’t get me wrong - I believe the Bengals organization and players should abide by all of the rules of the National Football League and all of the laws of our land.  One of the things that makes the NFL great is that they have created nearly as level of a playing field as possible such that each team has an equal chance to compete.  A Super Bowl Victory is a fabulous accomplishment for any organization.  One big star with a decent supporting cast can’t win it all (ref: NBA).  An owner with more money and higher individual revenue streams can’t buy up all the stars and win it all (ref: New York Yankees).  The NFL has rules for salary caps, revenue sharing, etc that gives every team the chance to win it all.  It is a system that has worked very well and is a model that many other leagues could learn from.

The inactive status of Chris Henry was a self-imposed higher standard that the Bengals chose to implement.  A few talk show hosts and callers called for Marvin to do something about Chris Henry!  These are the same callers who would probably be listening to something else if it weren’t for the Bengal popularity skyrocket they have jumped on!  And I believe that a large number of the attendees of last Sunday’s game who got in a driver’s seat would have failed a breathalyzer test!

After the Bengals’ first two possessions against the Pats, the score was 6-0.  Two nice drives – two field goals.   4 years ago, we would have been happy.  Today’s Bengals are capable of more – when they have all the available tools on the field.  Do we think Mr. Palmer would have loved to have another tall and talented receiver to look for in those (and later) drives?  What if Chris Henry’s presence turned one of those field goals into a TD?  Or both?  It would have been a much different game if it had been 10-0 or 14-0 at that point.  I felt sorry for Carson – looking – looking – frequently sacked – with one of his best targets, eligible to play according to league standards, sitting out!

There is a league out there where some football teams routinely impose “higher than minimum” standards on their players.  Colleges like Harvard, Princeton and Northwestern set academic standards that are well above NCAA minimums.  Of course, they are Universities – Not professional Football Teams.  Other college teams routinely operate at the minimum NCAA standards for player eligibility – care to guess who they are?  Just look at the list of National Champions for the last 10 years for a sample!

It is not Marvin’s job to impose a high moral standard on us through the Bengals.  The NFL sets rules for eligibility.  If a player meets those rules and is not suspended by the league, then he should play!  The NFL is a business.  The Bengals are a business.  The success of that business is highly tied to being competitive and winning football games.  If this is how the Bengals are going to operate – might as well jump off the bandwagon now!