PRO FOOTBALL ’94 / SEASON PREVIEWS : Judge Opens Door for Henley

A federal judge in Santa Ana has cleared the way for Darryl Henley to travel to road games with the Rams without a court escort, and the team’s president said Friday that if certain conditions are met, the team probably will re-sign him.

Ram President John Shaw said that if Coach Chuck Knox wants Henley back, as it appears he does, and if the team can help Henley raise his $2-million bail while minimizing the club’s liability for the entire amount, Henley could rejoin the team as early as next week.

“All right!” Henley said Friday. “Things have been crazy. I hope nothing changes again. I want to play for the Rams. A number of people have gone overboard in helping. Maybe it’s because they believe in the system.”

U.S. District Judge Gary L. Taylor sided with Henley’s attorneys, dropping the provision that a U.S. marshal or pretrial services agency officer accompany Henley on the road, so long as the $2 million was posted and Henley came up with an additional $200,000 cash deposit.

The Rams, who had cut Henley earlier this week, had indicated that they had no interest in re-signing him if an escort had to be used. Henley’s attorneys said the escort “would cause undue disruption to the team’s ability to prepare for, and play in, the games in question.”

But the judge’s ruling, and Shaw’s statement that Henley’s return to the team was likely, appears to have given the troubled cornerback new life as he awaits trial in January as a key suspect in an alleged conspiracy to distribute cocaine from his Brea home. If convicted, he faces a possible maximum punishment of life in federal prison.

Shaw said he was still awaiting a detailed copy of the judge’s ruling, but if the only restriction was a financial one, then the team would talk to Henley’s representatives about the manner in which the $2-million bail could be raised.

“As long as the (financial) risk is not great, we will probably re-sign him,” Shaw said.

If the Rams do re-sign Henley, considered one of the team’s best defensive players, they will have to release another player. They would like to re-sign Henley next week and avoid a distraction before Sunday’s regular-season opener, but they would be better served financially to release a player before the game.

Any player on the 53-man roster as of Sunday is entitled to half of his salary if he is released.

The Rams have been in a quandary about Henley since his indictment last year. Team officials agreed in August to sign him to a one-year, $350,000 contract but the terms of his bail prohibited him from leaving the Central District of California, including Orange and Los Angeles counties, without approval.

When Henley’s attorneys petitioned the court for permission for him to travel with the team to road games outside the district, Taylor allowed him to do so only if Henley, or a “responsible third party” such as the Rams, could come up with $1 million bail.

Taylor also ordered that a U.S. marshal or pre-trial services officer accompany him on all road games--even sitting beside him on the bench during the games--to make sure Henley didn’t flee.

Team officials were strongly opposed to the escort.

Henley’s attorneys suggested an increased bail of $2 million if Henley were allowed to travel without outside supervision. Taylor agreed, and in his ruling Friday said the Rams “may privately arrange for security to further supervise Mr. Henley.”

Federal prosecutors filed legal papers Friday opposing Henley’s request to travel without a court escort, calling him a flight risk and a danger to the community.

Taylor kept all other aspects of his order intact, including a provision that Henley’s salary should go into an escrow account controlled by a pretrial services officer who would provide Henley with living expenses and legal costs associated with the trial.