Raiders’ Incognito suspended 2 games over personal conduct
NEW YORK » Oakland Raiders guard Richie Incognito has been suspended without pay by the NFL for the first two games of the regular season for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.
Incognito pleaded guilty in April to disorderly conduct in Scottsdale, Ariz., after being accused of threatening employees at a funeral home where his father’s body was being held.
The Raiders signed Incognito in May. He sat out last season in retirement.
The 36-year-old Incognito has played 11 years in the NFL, making the Pro Bowl four times. He is a leading contender to start at left guard in Oakland.
Jets’ Herndon suspended
NEW YORK » Jets second-year tight end Chris Herndon was suspended without pay by the NFL on Friday for the first four regular-season games for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.
Herndon pleaded guilty in January to driving while intoxicated in New Jersey in June 2018. The incident occurred about a month after he was selected by the Jets in the fourth round of the NFL draft out of Miami.
Herndon is eligible to participate in offseason and preseason practices and games. He can return to the Jets’ active roster on Oct. 7. Herndon could still appeal the NFL’s decision in an attempt to get the suspension reduced.
New Jersey State Police said Herndon was driving his Nissan Armada when he crashed into a Toyota Land Cruiser that was towing a trailer carrying another vehicle. When troopers arrived, they arrested Herndon on suspicion of DWI and took him to a nearby state police barracks for an alcohol breath test.
The test revealed a blood-alcohol level over New Jersey’s limit of .08, according to State Police Sgt. Lawrence Peele.
Neither Herndon nor the 76-yearold driver was seriously injured.
Texas sheriff apologizes to Patriot, defends deputy
RICHMOND, TEXAS » A Texas sheriff said Friday he has apologized to New England’s Elandon Roberts for the actions of a deputy who referred to the linebacker’s race and size during a March traffic stop but also defended the deputy’s comment and the stop.
Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls said during a news conference that he spoke with Roberts and his attorney and said the deputy should not have taken so long with the March 10 traffic stop.
Roberts was stopped as he pulled into the driveway of his Houstonarea home and Nehls also said Deputy Adam Watkins was wrong to order Roberts’ wife back inside the home when she saw flashing lights and stepped outside.
“The way he interacted with his wife, I didn’t appreciate the tone,” Nehls said of his deputy.
Watkins, who is white, ultimately was issued a verbal reprimand for how he conducted the stop, according to sheriff’s Capt. Steve Holtz.
But the stop, which was captured on dash-cam video, was warranted because Roberts was traveling 59 mph in a 35 mph zone as he traveled home, Nehls said. Holtz explained the ticket later was changed to a warning at the deputy’s request.
Watkins, in speaking to a colleague, referred to Roberts as a “big, black male” but Nehls defended the reference to race, saying the deputy was simply offering a description of the driver. The sheriff didn’t comment on why it was necessary for the deputy to invoke Roberts’ race.
Roberts, 25, in a statement to USA Today was critical of his treatment, saying, “Unfortunately, these types of things are happening all too often to African Americans.”
Watkins also told a colleague that Roberts “wouldn’t comply” when told to get back into his car after getting out once he pulled into his driveway. “I had to yell at him pretty hard,” Watkins is heard saying on the video.
Holtz said Watkins, a rookie only on the job a few months when the stop occurred, became nervous when he saw Roberts initially get out of his car. He said the mistakes Watkins committed were understandable in light of his inexperience.