The Cincinnati Bengals are no strangers to watching their players trade in orange and black stripes of their uniforms for the black and white stripes of a prison jumpsuit. In fact, it has happened so often in Cincinnati that many around the country think of the legal troubles of players like the late Chris Henry, Adam "Pacman" Jones, Cedric Benson and Jerome Simpson, more than they think about the fact that Cincinnati has rebuilt the team and has a chance at sustained success in the future behind Andy Dalton and A.J. Green (I'm a Bengals fan, if you can't tell).
The latest name that can be added to that list is former USC Trojans linebacker Rey Maualuga, who the Bengals grabbed in the second round of the 2009 draft. After swearing he was a changed man following a DUI arrest in January of 2010, Maualuga was charged with misdemeanor assault after allegedly injuring a bar manager in a Cincinnati bar fight.
After a very mediocre season as the Bengals' new middle linebacker, many fans have had their fill of Maualuga. On SB Nation's Bengals site, Cincy Jungle, some commenters are calling for the team to find a new middle linebacker to replace Maualuga.
Here are some of the comments:
From RHSNEYES:
Pleeeease
Make a serious effort to replace this dude if at all possible. He simply isn't very good.
From ARoo:
Bye Maualuga
Hello Hightower!
From Sexsalad:
I was willing to give him a chance despite the very average play because he's done good and he has potential. But this just makes him way more replaceable.
From BengalsFanSince67:
Rey
What happened to that contrite guy who was so apologetic when he had his DWI and how having a kid changed him... swore he wouldn't be a knucklehead anymore. If he was a great player I could see giving him another chance. Not now. Trade him to Oakland.
And a little humor from leetcb:
Seriously here is what happened he is innocent!!!
Rey couldn't shed the block by the bouncer keeping him away from the manager so NO way in hell could he have hit the manager.(see this years games as proof of his shedding ability on big linemen)seriously, I own a 58 jersey and am throwing it away. He is by no means a top notch middle linebacker, and he can't stay out of trouble... so I say cut our losses.
Maualuga had a handful of solid games in the 2011 season but he was very inconsistent and many Bengals fans would like to see him either back at outside linebacker or on the bench, especially after this latest run in with the law.
For more on the Cincinnati Bengals, head to Cincy Jungle.