NFL suspends Henry for eight games

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell this afternoon announced that he has suspended Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry for eight games. Henry was arrested four times between December 2005 and June 2006. He was suspended for two games last season by Goodell. The latest suspension is the result of Henry's repeated off-field legal issues.

“We support the commissioner’s ruling,” Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said in a statement released by the team, “and while we regret the circumstances that called for it, it’s good for both Chris and the Bengals to have the matter resolved. Our team will move forward, and now it is up to Chris to acquire a more mature understanding of his responsibilities as a player for the Bengals and a representative of the NFL.”

Tennessee cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones was suspended for the entire 2007 sesaon.
He and Henry each player must earn the right to be reinstated.

“We must protect the integrity of the NFL,” Goodell said. “The highest standards of conduct must be met by everyone in the NFL because it is a privilege to represent the NFL, not a right. These players, and all members of our league, have to make the right choices and decisions in their conduct on a consistent basis.”

In a letter to each player, Commissioner Goodell wrote: “Your conduct has brought embarrassment and ridicule upon yourself, your club, and the NFL, and has damaged the reputation of players throughout the league. You have put in jeopardy an otherwise promising NFL career, and have risked both your own safety and the safety of others through your off-field actions. In each of these respects, you have engaged in conduct detrimental to the NFL and failed to live up to the standards expected of NFL players. Taken as a whole, this conduct warrants significant sanction.”

Henry will be reinstated after the Bengals’ eighth regular-season game if he meets certain conditions during his suspension that will be monitored closely by the Bengals and the NFL. The leage said those conditions include the following:

-- He must have no further adverse involvement with law enforcement.

-- He must fully cooperate with all required counseling, education, and treatment assigned to him under league programs.

-- He is eligible to be at the Bengals’ facilities during the rest of the offseason for customary activities and he must meet weekly with the team’s player development director.

-- If he fully complies with all other conditions, he may participate in the Bengals’ training camp and preseason games.

-- During the regular season, he is permitted to be at the Bengals’ facility for team meetings and must meet weekly with the team’s player development director, but he may not attend or participate in practice.

-- He must fully comply with all conditions imposed on him by any court, including requirements of community service.

Jones and Henry were told that any failure to comply with these conditions will result in additional discipline, including possible banishment from the league.

“I must emphasize to you that this is your last opportunity to salvage your NFL career,” Goodell wrote to Jones and Henry. “I urge you to take full advantage of the resources available to support you in that effort.”