Nick Fairley's Arrest Generates Criticism Of Detroit Lions' Troubles

With Nick Fairley arrested for the second time in as many months on Sunday, the Detroit Lions' troubles keep mounting.

Nick Fairley was arrested Sunday after cops allegedly clocked his Cadillac Escalade driving 100 mph, according to the Associated Press. He was released Sunday around 9 a.m. after posting $1,750 bond.

The torrent of bad publicity keeps flowing for the Lions, and observers are not holding back in their criticism of Fairley and his team.

Why do people, when they get up to the status of a pro player, get stupid, like Nick Fairley? These people got it made for the rest of their lives, and they get stupid. They think they're untouchable because they got all this money, wrote the Alabama Press-Register on Tuesday (Fairley is from Alabama and was arrested in Mobile). Hey, Nick Fairley, that smile you have in the paper, I bet it disappears once the football commissioner gets a hold of you. Have a nice day.

Nick Fairley's arrest Sunday is the second time in as many months that the star has found himself in trouble with the law, as he was picked up by police in Mobile and charged with marijuana possession in April. The former Auburn University star will be arraigned in July.

It's not the first stain on the Lions' record over the past year either, as star running back Mikel Leshoure and offensive tackle Johnny Culbreath have both been hit with drug-possession charges. Meanwhile, wide receiver Titus Young punched safety Louis Delmas this month, and he has not been back at Detroit practice since, the Detroit Free Press reported.

The reaction can be summed up pretty simply: On Monday, an ESPN reporter asked a logical question on the sports channel: Are the Detroit Lions out of control?

ESPN commentator Skip Bayless followed that up with his own two cents:

They have won nothing. They have a chance to win a lot. They have a potential dynasty chance here. That's how loaded they look to me, but this is a bad start because its all premature. You have not won anything yet. You got blown out in that playoff game in New Orleans. So I don't want to hear 'yet,' and I'm very disappointed in a guy I have supported in Nick Fairley.

And ESPN correspondent Stephen A. Smith says the consequences need to be swift and serious:

I hope the commissioner does come down hard on him. This is DUI, Smith said. What are we supposed to do, wait for him to kill someone?

The Lions brass seem to have very little to say about the growing evidence that the team is crumbling under the weight of its players' missteps.

We are aware of the reports and are in the process of gathering more information, the Lions said in a statement Sunday, USA Today reported.

Lions coach Jim Schwartz downplayed his team's ongoing troubles last week as well, according to USA Today:

We're not playing any games right now, Schwartz said. I think that a lot of times when people focus on some things about a team you can miss other things that a team does and we'll just keep working harder to do better next time.

Lions kicker Jason Hanson said the arrests and other issues are not a hiccup for the team, according to USA Today, though they do reflect badly on the individual players:

I don't want to speak for the guys that got busted for their stuff, it's just too easy to be immature, Hanson said. I'm sorry, but it's always been that problem. But it's just you're young and it's the NFL and it's big time and you've got money and it's just too easy to be stupid.

It appears that may be the case, as the team's head coach, Jim Schwartz, has been unable to stop his players from continuing to embarrass the organization.

It remains to be seen what types of repercussions Nick Fairley will face for his alleged actions, but even if he somehow avoids major NFL penalties, he has tarred his name just as his career is beginning. Let's hope this is the last we hear about Nick Fairley's life off the field.