Mixon goes to ‘Cin’ City
PHILADELPHIA — If you were wondering which NFL franchise is the most soulless, unscrupulous, collector of nasty sociopaths, look no further than the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Bengals selected Joe Mixon with the 48th pick in the draft Friday night, putting an end to the stomach-turning mystery of what organization would emerge as the first one willing to employ the disgraced Oklahoma running back. It makes perfect sense, really: this is the same franchise that has employed serial slimeball Pacman Jones for years.
Mixon, of course, was among most radioactive of all the bad-boy prospects at the 2017 NFL Draft. Three years ago, he turned in the most horrifying performance in a security camera video this side of Ray Rice when he broke Amelia Molitor’s face with a punch at an Oklahoma restaurant.
Now we know the Bengals truly are a safe haven for bad guys.
The video went public in December, theoretically in an effort to avoid a draft-night shocker like the one that impacted Laremy Tunsil’s draft status a year ago. Imagine if we just saw the knockout punch this week, or in the minutes prior to the draft. After five months, the shock value of the knockout has softened enough for the Bengals to take him.
Mixon was suspended for one season by the Sooners. Because of the serious nature of his criminal history, he was not invited to the combine, so teams interested in him had to schedule individual sessions. Last week, he and Molitor settled her civil suit out of court.
“I’m thankful Mia and I were able to talk privately,” Mixon said. “I was able to apologize to her one-on-one. The way I reacted that night, that’s not me.”
That remains to be seen. Since the incident, Mixon was suspended one game last season for an offfield incident in which he allegedly tore up a parking ticket and threw it in the officer’s face. In recent weeks, NFL teams were also reportedly investigating an incident in which Mixon was accused of hitting another girl in high school.
The Bengals were aware of all of this. And they seem to be just fine with it. But hey, they’ve been just fine with employing bad guys for a long time. NEWS STAR TO PANTHERS: Before he was headed to the NFL, Curtis Samuel was named the Daily News Player of the Year following a standout junior season at Erasmus Hall HS in Brooklyn.
Samuel, the Ohio State Hback, was taken by the Carolina Panthers in the second round of the NFL Draft on Friday night. He was the 40th pick overall, but in 2013 he was The News’ top pick for best player in all of New York City.
Samuel won the award on January 23, 2013, following a season in which led the Dutchmen to the PSAL championship. In the title game at Yankee Stadium, Samuel rushed for 117 yards on 20 carries and gave his team the winning points when he scored a 2-point conversion on a run up the middle halfway through the third quarter of a 15-14 victory over Tottenville.
— Julian Garcia