THE SIDELINES : Banned Ex-Bengal Arrested

Former Cincinnati Bengals running back Stanley Wilson, expelled from the NFL for life for alleged drug use, was arrested early today near Gardena for investigation of resisting arrest and possessing drug paraphernalia, authorities said.

On the night before the Super Bowl a year ago, Wilson, 28, of Carson, was suspended by the Bengals for alleged cocaine use, the last in a series of suspensions that led to his lifetime ban.

Gardena authorities determined that Wilson was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol when he was arrested, Sheriff’s Deputy George Ducoulombier said.

Deputies patrolling an unincorporated area near Gardena about 1:30 a.m. found Wilson stopped in his 1989 Chrysler LeBaron in the middle of an intersection, Ducoulombier said.

As deputies approached the car, they spotted a pipe between the two front seats, Ducoulombier said. The pipe apparently was used to smoke marijuana, he said.

Wilson got out of his car and scuffled with deputies, the sheriff’s spokesman said. After a brief struggle, Wilson was arrested and booked at the Lennox Station, where he was being held in lieu of $1,000 bail.

Deputies said they do not know why Wilson’s car was stopped at the intersection of 144th Street and Western Avenue near Gardena, Ducoulombier said.

Wilson played his last season for the Cincinnati Bengals in 1988 when the Bengals went to the Super Bowl, losing 20-16 to the San Francisco 49ers. Then-National Football League Commissioner Pete Rozelle imposed the suspension for alleged drug use.

Wilson, a college star at the University of Oklahoma, missed the 1985 and 1987 NFL seasons because of earlier suspensions for alleged cocaine use.

The league expelled him for life, but he can reapply to NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue for re-admission as a player.