It hasn’t been a proud week for the Green Bay Packers organization, as they have had three legal situations that have arisen to the forefront.
This time period between the end of minicamp and the beginning of training camp always has NFL teams holding their collective breaths. Mike McCarthy empathized to his players the importance of representing the organization well during this vacation. Andrew Quarless clearly didn’t take this to heart.
Quarless was arrested in South Beach on Saturday morning, and charged with misdemeanor discharging a firearm in public. He allegedly fired two shots in the air in an argument with morning and tried to hide the gun behind a plant. This was following a one-game suspension for Datone Jones after he was cited for marijuana possession the day following the NFC Championship game. Also coming out last week was Letroy Guion facing a civil suit from 2013 for assault, battery and assault by cyberstalking. This was after Guion was arrested on felony possession of marijuana and a firearm. Those charges were dropped.
These were the first arrests for the Packers since Erik Walden was arrested in 2011. They’ve done a good job of evaluating character in their draft prospects, so they don’t have to deal with this stuff. The phrase “Packer people” gets thrown out a lot for what the Packers are looking for in their players. These kind of incidents have been rare for the Packers, but now that they have happened they must be dealt with accordingly.
I was surprised that Guion returned to begin with following his arrest. He wasn’t drafted by the team, so he didn’t have that kind of connection to them. He also isn’t the kind of talent you take a character risk on, especially after re-signing B.J. Raji. His charges were dropped, but they were significant.
Quarless is the starting tight end for Green Bay, but he’s basically a replaceable player, even though Aaron Rodgers gave him some love this offseason. Many fans have been calling for Quarless’ release. It’s something to consider if you really want to send a message to the team and it’s doubtful Quarless would be missed much even though the Packers are thin at tight end. Of course, there is something to be said for letting the legal process play out. Although, if these allegations prove true they’re certainly reason to cut a player.
It’s a tough situation that the Packers haven’t faced recently. What is the fine line between letting the legal process play out and making a statement that this behavior is unacceptable? It will be very interesting to see how Mike McCarthy and Ted Thompson react to this.
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Matt Bove is a writer at PackersTalk.com. PackersTalk.com. You can follow him on twitter at @RayRobert9.
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3 responses to “Packers Facing Uncharted Territory With Legal Trouble”
Time to cut’em, NO excuse for disregarding the coach’s admonition–THAT is what cost the Packers the tying TD against the ‘Hawks in the title game–a selfish player ignoring his job and coach’s direction and acting out on his own. There’s several options already on roster and probably a street FA somewhere that would beg to be on this offense. Cut a problem, next player up!
There is a big difference between smoking marijuana and beating you spouse girl friend. Firing you gun in the air is a lot different than firing at some one. If there is no intent to cause harm. (performance enhancing drugs excluded) It doesn’t seem to be a real character issue. They can be good guys. We forget that they are in the 20’s most often with a lot of money. Sometimes that makes you stupid. I have spent more than a day or two in jail for stupid if I would have had the money I wouldn’t have. (young men fast car pretty women) All lead to poor judgement.
Lee, they might be in their 20’s with a lot of money–NOBODY IS ABOVE THE LAW!! Being a high paid athlete or celebrity is not listed as an excuse in any law written. There are THOUSANDS of more deserving players out there willing to put in the time and effort for the same opportunity–CUT’EM, next deserving player UP!!!