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Northern Kentucky authorities said Monday that more testing would be needed to determine whether suspended Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry had failed a drug screening. Henry's agent insisted that the drug test was negative and the Bengals said they were awaiting more information from the authorities in northern Kentucky. Meanwhile, the Bengals, plagued by a series of off-the-field problems for more than a year, waived linebacker A.J. Nicholson hours after he appeared in a court Monday on a domestic violence charge. A spokeswoman for the Kenton County attorney's office said there would be more testing in the Henry case.
"We know that there are inconsistent reports about the routine drug screenings," said spokeswoman Melissa Pryor-Reed. "As a result of these inconsistencies, further tests are currently pending." "It's negative," said Marvin Frazier, Henry's agent. "They jumped the gun on it." Frazier, who said he was getting his information from the Bengals and had talked to Henry, said an initial test, which he compared to a home-pregnancy test, had been followed up with a screening that confirmed there were no drugs in Henry's system. After earlier reports circulated Monday that Henry had failed a drug test, the chief prosecutor for Kenton County said authorities were waiting for final analysis from the Kentucky state lab. "We have to wait for confirmation from the state lab. We have suspicion on a field test," Ken Easterling told The Cincinnati Enquirer. "We cannot confirm or deny (Henry's test sample) contains a controlled substance." Failing a drug test could result in Henry's current NFL suspension of eight games being extended to at least a full season. He could also face more jail time in Kenton County, just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. Henry served two days there after pleading guilty to a charge of letting minors drink in a hotel room he rented. The judge suspended 88 days of the 90-day sentence. A message seeking comment was left for an attorney for attorney, Robert Lotz. "With respect to the northern Kentucky proceedings, reports to date may not be based on complete information," the Bengals said in a statement. "More information is expected to be made available shortly, once all the procedural tests are complete, and the club will await any action until that information has been released." The Bengals said to the club's knowledge, Henry had been complying with legal and NFL-required procedures. Henry, the Bengals' No. 3 receiver, has shown big-play ability, and the offense struggled last year when he was benched one game by coach Marvin Lewis and suspended two more games by the NFL. Henry was arrested four times over 14 months, but had avoided jail time on the other three charges. The Bengals waived Nicholson, who pleaded not guilty Monday in Kenton County court to a domestic violence charge. His girlfriend tried to recant her claim that Nicholson hit her, but a judge would not allow it. Nicholson remains free on $5,000 bond, with a hearing set for May 31. The fifth-round draft pick from Florida State in 2006 appeared in only two games last season, when he had a hamstring injury. Bengals spokesman Jack Brennan said the team had no comment on the decision to waive Nicholson. Nicholson had pleaded no contest to burglary and grand theft in Tallahassee, Fla., and was sentenced to two months in a work program. He was also placed on two years' probation, which could be jeopardized by his arrest last Friday after a woman called 911 and told them she had been assaulted, police said. The Bengals had nine players arrested in a nine-month span, before NFL commissioner Roger Goodell introduced a new conduct policy last month that stiffens penalties and holds franchises responsible when their players get into trouble. Henry, a third-year pro, and former West Virginia teammate Adam "Pacman" Jones became examples of the crackdown, with Goodell suspending Henry for eight games and cornerback Jones, of Tennessee, for the season. "I must emphasize to you that this is your last opportunity to salvage your NFL career," Goodell wrote in letters to the players. Pryor-Reed said Henry had been undergoing drug screening as part of his probation. She said he had complied with another condition, that he speak to local students about the dangers of drugs and alcohol. Dayton Daily News http://www.daytondailynews.com/s/content/oh/story/sports/pro/bengals/2007/05/21/FBN__Bengals_Henry_S0294.html |
