I understand life can be tough. We all make stupid decisions; I mean, really, really dumb ones. Denver Broncos RB Travis Henry, a player who owns the Colts defense so completely it isn't funny, has also made some dumb decisions in his life. Unless you've lived under a rock the last few months, you might have heard that ole Travis has fathered 9 children by 9 different women. Recently, Travis was busted for failing a marijuana drug test.
Listen, if I had 9 kids to feed, and 9 different women scratching and clawing to get a piece of my yearly salary, I'd probably smoke weed too. Lots of it. Enough to make Ricky Williams go, "Damn, son! That's a lot of hash."
Now before you scream that I'm advocating that people smoke pot, relax a second and hear me. I'm not condoning anything. I'm simply trying to inject a bit of flawed, human realism to this. Mile High Report is already calling for Shanahan to cut Travis. I believe Travis has got $12 million in guaranteed money coming to him this year. That money is in serious jeopardy now that he's failed a drug test. Travis is suing the league now in a desperate attempt to play this Sunday. In all likelihood, Travis' suit will fail, and the league will suspend him one year. This is his fourth drug violation with the league.
We are all guilty of making bad decisions. That is, in no way, excusing Travis' rather dumb behavior. Getting caught four times with weed means you're stupid. NFL players, like Rodney Harrison, are able to hide HGH and steriod use. Weed is a pretty easy thing to hide, and you should NOT be smoking it if it will cost you $12 million dollars. Stoned out surfers with pot beards that touch their toes will tell you that.
I get the sense that Travis, with all his kids and all these women fighting to get a piece of him, just got tired one day. Football is physically and emotionally taxing as is. Add to it these complications, and I have an understanding as to why Travis might sit in his easy chair one evening and toke on a doobie.
Stupid? Yes. A nice glass of scotch or a dirty martini would do the same thing Travis: Calm you down. Heck, for many of us, a nice cold beer does the trick. Work is hard. Kids are screaming. Wife bitchin' about the mortgage. Monday Night Football was created specifically for people who wanted to come home, kick off their shoes, pop open a beer, and enjoy football. Life melts away. Troubles disappear. It's just you, your beer, and football. The simple things.
So, while Travis' stupidity might hurt him yet again, I will actually reserve judgment on him. No, it has nothing to do with him owning my team's defense, running all over them as if they had yellow highway lane dividers painted on their unis. I just know that, like many of you, I've made stupid decisions too. We all have. It might be a bit too harsh to say CUT HIM right now. I don't know. If he does get suspended, I sincerely hope that when he comes back he's able to feed his kids and live comfortably.
We all do stupid things, but very few deserve misery. I hope Travis lands on his feet. I really do.