David Pollack is a football player and a very good one.  He is committed.  He works hard, and he is a team player.  He is well liked, and he has caught some of the worse breaks you could imagine since he started his career with the Bengals.  He knows and respects the blessings he has been given, and what it means to be playing in the NFL. 

Odell Thurman is a football player, and a very good one.  He has lacked commitment and discipline.  His work ethic has been questioned, and he has created some horrible situations for himself by making one bad decision after another since he became a Bengal.  He doesn’t seem to understand the life changing opportunity the NFL can provide to him.  

Over the past few weeks we have heard about the fate of both of these players.  Bengals fans were devastated to see David Pollack go down again.  Not just because of the skills, determination, and dedication he brings to the team, but also because at the end of the day, he is simply the kind of guy you root for.  You want to see him do well.  He is a good guy and well respected by coaches, players, and fans. 

Odell Thurman on the other hand has blown opportunities.  He has been hammered in local and national media and by Bengals fans as well.  He has taken an opportunity that most could only dream about and practically flushed it down the toilet.  He has become the poster child for the Bengal's off the field problems.      

With this being said, man it feels good to kick a guy when he is down.  We feel bad for David Pollack; we love to see Thurman fall even harder. As I was reading more fan mail and literally watching Odell Thurman become more disliked by the hour on local Bengals blogs, a thought occurred to me.  What would David Pollack say about Odell’s situation?  I cannot speak for Pollack, but I would imagine he would not say anything.  David Pollack is a class individual.  He would probably say that he was not the one to judge Odell Thurman’s situation.  That he did not have all the details.  Does the situation frustrate him most likely in his current state yes, but I just can't see Pollack having anything negative to say about the situation or being judgmental. Thiis made me think even more.  If the guy who is so well liked by Bengals fans and is facing a long road back to the game he loves is not going to pass judgment on Odell, then why should all the Bengals fans. 

Yes Odell Thurman has screwed up big time.  So much so that he may have cost himself his career.  He has taken his opportunities for granite.  He has cost the team and in turn cost the fans.  He obviously seems to have some type of substance abuse problem.  I am not proposing that we all just decide Odell should be forgiven and thats that.  What I am suggesting is that people/fans not judge him until they know all the facts.  I know people are disappointed.  I will say it, pissed off over what he has done to himself and the team.  It is okay to be mad about it, but the fans I see attacking him personally who don't know anything about him or this situation are out of line.  He obviously needs help. 

Odell Thurman is a great player.  He just needs to find a way to become a great person again.  David Pollack is a great person.  He just needs to get healthy so he can be a great player again.  The decision falls in each of their hands.  I will gladly take a physically healthy David Pollack and a mentally healthy Odell Thurman any day of the week.  People make mistakes (big ones!).  I just can’t see judging Odell Thurman without knowing all the details especially knowing that David Pollack is struggling just to do every day things right now like hold his children.   There are things more important in this world than lining up to play for the Bengals.  These are not football challenges that each of these individuals face, these are life challenges.  Both of these players are going to potentiall have their lives changed from this moment forward.  This may be a time that both of these people look back and realize that this was where it all changed.

Two roads have been taken from Georgia.   Both roads have been long and uphill so far, and no one is sure where they will lead.  For the sake of both of these young men and for the Bengals fans, I hope the roads lead back to the NFL and back to Paul Brown Stadium.  We could always use two great linebackers, and two good men.  And if by chance they don’t make it back, I hope both players find the road that gets them where they want to be in life.  Both of these players have come to the cross roads, one by fate, and the other by his own actions.  It is up to both of them to determine where the road leads from here.  I think it is time that Bengals fans realize this and not be so quick to judge Odell Thurman especially if you have not been down the road he is traveling.