NFL Clears Banks to Play : But Chargers Say It’s likely He Would Be With New Team

The NFL cleared troubled linebacker Chip Banks to play football again Thursday. But the Chargers said their position on him has not changed.

In July, team owner Alex Spanos pledged publicly that Banks would never play again for the Chargers. And, Steve Ortmayer said Thursday, “Mr. Spanos’ position has not, to my knowledge, changed.” Ortmayer is the team’s director of football operations.

Spanos’ statement was made after Banks’ fifth arrest in less than two years. Spanos is vehemently opposed to paying players with drug problems.

Banks, 30, has played in three Pro Bowls. But he sat out the 1988 season because he didn’t think the Chargers’ five-year, $4.7 million offer was enough. He has subsequently undergone drug rehabilitation treatment in Atlanta and San Diego County. Last March, Banks pleaded guilty to two drug charges in Fulton County (Ga.) Superior Court and was placed on five years probation. He received another five-year probation following his arrest June 22.

When the Atlanta court clarified this week the conditions of those probations (which will run concurrently), the NFL decided Banks could return to the playing field without suspension.

NFL spokesman Joe Browne said Commissioner Pete Rozelle told Banks he must have “total avoidance of any further drug involvement or any other conduct detrimental to the integrity of the league” in order to remain eligible.

The conditions announced by Judge Leah Sears-Collins are these: Banks must contribute 10% of his net income for the next three years and 5% for the following two years to drug treatment programs in Atlanta and San Diego. The second probation also requires Banks to perform 500 hours of community service.

Ortmayer spoke with Banks Thursday and said Banks indicated to him he will be completing his latest rehabilitation program “soon.” Ortmayer also confirmed he sat in on a discussion Wednesday between Spanos and Lee Rice, the Charger physician who has been in contact with officials at Banks’ drug rehab center.

The Chargers have until Oct. 17, the league trade deadline, to deal Banks to another team. But they have to sign him before they can trade him. Ortmayer said he has spoken to but not negotiated with Banks’ attorney, Forrest Johnson. Ortmayer also said he has not discussed trading Banks with any teams. He said the Chargers will address their options on Banks in the “course of the next few days.”

Asked what Banks might bring in return if traded, Ortmayer said, “I don’t know how teams outside San Diego view him. It’s hard to put a finger on a guy who’s been away for a year.”

Lewis R. Slaton, the Fulton County district attorney who served as prosecutor in the case, said the second probation sentence was recommended so Banks could have an opportunity to seek a contract agreement with the Chargers.

The Associated Press reported that Slaton said he understood the signing of a $450,000 contract by Banks was “imminent.”

But Ortmayer said he did not indicate to Banks or his attorney that the Chargers were prepared to sign Banks. “They know Mr. Spanos’ position on this,” Ortmayer said. “I have no idea where that $450,000 figure came from.”

Charger Coach Dan Henning refused comment, as did several of his players.

But Pro Bowl defensive end Lee Williams said Banks should get an opportunity to prove he has solved his drug problems. “If he’s got himself straightened out, we should give him a chance to play again,” Williams said. “It’s happened to 1,000 people in this league.”

Reminded that Banks’ was arrested on five separate occasions, Williams replied, “Well, it’s like (comparing) guys who commit murder and guys who commit multiple murders. They still committed murder.”

Charger Notes

The Chargers are still listing quarterback Jim McMahon as “questionable’ on their injury report even though Coach Dan Henning said Thursday, for the second consecutive day, that McMahon will “probably” play against Denver Sunday.