Rams Right to Stand by Their Man

Now, on defense for the Rams, me.

A popular football player has been charged with a crime. A serious crime--a felony. The athlete maintains his innocence. Others say they have very strong evidence pointing to his guilt.

Sound familiar?

No, no O.J. today.

The culprit du jour is Darryl Henley, a defensive back who is back playing ball with the Rams, even though he is under indictment for masterminding a major cocaine-selling ring.

The Rams have been bashed once or twice this summer, simply because they stood by an employee. Despite the charges against him, they believe Henley deserves due process. So does the National Football League, which cleared Henley to continue playing.

“The responsibility of reassessing Darryl’s status was with the league,” John Shaw, executive vice president of the Rams, said Tuesday. “The ‘integrity of the game’ question has been addressed. And our organization supports the view of the commissioner.

“We will obviously monitor the other situation as it goes along. But Darryl has been a valued member of this football team. As long as he has been cleared to play, he is still a part of this team.”

Because the former UCLA athlete became a free agent, he could have signed with any NFL team. As one Ram official rhetorically asked, “What happens if we let someone else sign Henley, then he’s judged totally innocent?”

Good extra point.

It’s called waiting for justice to be done.

It’s one of those “presumed innocence things,” to use a phrase from a recent Doonesbury comic strip about O.J. Simpson.

It should happen to you.

The Rams are acting responsibly regarding Darryl Henley’s rights. Should he be found guilty, then they can scratch his name from the roster. Should he be found not guilty, then they can continue to play him as his talent warrants. This isn’t complicated.

You don’t automatically dismiss people for being arrested.

Yet, the general public is not always satisfied unless the accused is forced into exile. Arrested means guilty.

It definitely looks bad for Darryl Henley, true. He is one of eight defendants charged in joint cases of extortion and conspiracy to distribute cocaine. The drug ring allegedly was headquartered in Henley’s house. A former Ram cheerleader was implicated, as was Henley’s uncle. The cheerleader has pleaded guilty; the Henleys are free on bail money totaling $700,000.

And Darryl is in the NFL, not in jail.

The player’s attorney, Roger Cossack, pointed out, “Darryl Henley has never been in trouble in all his life.”

And the Rams are supporting a man they know. They do not deny Henley his inalienable right to continue working. Lest we forget, there are a number of NFL players still playing who have been convicted of crimes. It is hardly idyllic, but it’s a fact of life.

So, one thing at a time. Let’s wait for Henley to stand trial, then judge him.

Ram coaches are not mind-readers. They don’t know what Henley has done. They do know he can help their team.

But his is a sticky predicament. Until his situation changes, it is possible that Henley will be available only for home games, a condition of his bail being that he not travel outside a specified area of the state.

He will cross that bridge when--rather, if--he comes to it.

What somewhat complicates matters for the Rams is that no team in football more emphatically clamored in recent years against drug abuse. Anti-drug messages have been slapped all over the Rams’ uniforms and field.

Having a drug dealer on the payroll would hardly sit well with the active-in-the-community Georgia Frontiere, nor with a Ram advisory board that includes a U.S. congresswoman, the Orange County sheriff, a member of England’s House of Lords, Ronald Reagan’s daughter and Bob Hope.

But until that person is a convicted drug dealer, he is a citizen and should be treated as such.

You know, that presumed innocence thing.

Henley, 27, is facing the prospect of 10 years in prison or more. Federal prosecutors have branded him a menace to society and a flight risk.

If the Rams line up 10 against 11 some Sunday, you’ll know they were right.

But even if he should become a Ram on the lam, the team is not responsible. This isn’t some work-release program. This is a football franchise, not a halfway house. Better to give a job to a friend than turn your back.

Henley has been a Ram since 1989. If convicted, he may never be one again.

Until that sorry day, though, it is good of the Rams to stand behind their man. Not every company would.