Bengals feeling heat over Mixon
The Bengals are facing a backlash over their decision to draft running back Joe Mixon, who punched a woman in the face while at Oklahoma.
Cincinnati added to its reputation for embracing players with troubled histories when it took Mixon in the second round. The choice was getting panned in Cincinnati before Mixon, who played at Freedom High School in Oakley, even arrived in town Saturday,
WCPO-TV posted an editorial Saturday afternoon saying the club had gone too far this time. The editorial urged fans to stop buying Bengals tickets and instead donate the money to organizations that work to prevent violence against women.
Mixon got a warm reception at a fan event at Paul Brown Stadium. He knew there were mixed feelings in the community.
“It’s not really about winning anybody over,” Mixon said. “I come here to work and to be the best teammate, the best person, and try to do whatever I can around the community and get everybody together.”
Bengals owner Mike Brown has a fondness for trying to rehabilitate players with off-field problems, a trend that continues with the team’s newest running back.
The club signed linebacker Vontaze Burfict after every team passed on him in the 2012 draft, and he wound up being suspended by the NFL for illegal hits. Cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones was arrested again this offseason on misdemeanor charges, including assault, in connection with a confrontation at a downtown hotel.
Mixon punched Amelia Molitor in July 2014, an incident that was caught on video. The punch broke bones in her face and resulted in a one-year suspension from Oklahoma’s football team for Mixon.
The television station’s editorial said it was “disgraceful” to draft Mixon, who also was suspended for a game last season over a confrontation with a parking attendant.
“Enough is enough, Bengals,” the editorial said. “We can excuse another season without winning a playoff game. We can’t excuse drafting a player like Joe Mixon.”
Draft notes: In the fourth round, Oklahoma running back Samaje Perine, who set the FBS rushing mark with 427 yards in a game against Kansas, was selected by Washington . ... NCAA record-setting running back Donnel Pumphrey of San Diego State was selected by the Eagles in the fourth round. The 5-foot-9 Pumphrey led the FBS in rushing with 2,133 yards and scored 17 TDs, and left college as the FBS career leader in rushing yards (6,290, breaking the mark of Wisconsin’s Ron Dayne) . ... Oklahoma All-America wide receiver Dede Westbrook, who finished fourth in Heisman Trophy balloting, went to the Jaguars, also in Round 4 . ... Mr. Irrelevant, the moniker applied to the last player selected in the draft, this year is Mississippi quarterback Chad Kelly, who went No. 253 to the Broncos.