Two Broncos Plunge Through the Ice

It was only a few weeks ago that I posted my concern on all of the Broncos who are on a “one strike, you’re out” basis. It seems my concerns were well-founded, as one of those players finds himself heading to court and another, not previously listed, finds himself suspended for two games for incidents years back.

First the suspension: backup safety Sam Brandon has been handed down a league suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. The suspension possibly stems from the arrests Brandon had in 2004 and 2005 for domestic violence – it’s interesting that the suspension comes now, especially when you consider that the first charges, a misdemeanor, were dropped entirely. Look for incumbents Curome Cox and Hamza Abdullah to step up, and you never know – this could be the straw that breaks the Greg Wesley trade’s back.

The other news is that everyone’s favorite polygraph-tester, David Kircus, had his preliminary hearing yesterday. The judge determined there was enough to go to trial, so Kircus will have to face the music one way or another. You may remember that he took a lie-detector test to convince head coach Mike Shanahan that he was acting in self-defense; well, according to the Denver Post’s report on the victim’s testimony, something doesn’t add up.

The victim testified that Kircus threatened him, saying “You don’t know what I’m capable of” after knocking the man to the floor. Moments before, as they were walking out of the man’s house, the victim testified that Kircus said “Once we get to the end of the driveway, you’re not protected anymore.”

Of course, everyone knows lie detector test results are not admissible in court. And although the victim testified under oath he had over 10 alcoholic drinks that night, it all just seems too damning for Kircus to remain on the team. As much as Broncos fans have to be concerned over a fan favorite backup receiver with a penchant for big plays making the team or not, there are serious, serious charges here – felony assault comes with a possible sentence of five to sixteen years in prison. And the judge felt there was enough to go on to go to trial, for that serious of a charge!

Frankly, I’m sick and tired of hearing about athletes on the police blotter – especially Broncos. Brandon’s violations are old news – fine, we’ll get through our first games at Buffalo and against Oakland and he’ll rejoin the team, no big deal. But Kircus’ case just went from late-night incident to polygraph test to FELONY TRIAL. And I hesitate, only for a moment, to remind fans that athletes are often unfairly targeted for these sort of things, and that Kircus DID pass a polygraph, claiming self defense. It’s his first incident of my knowledge, so it’s not like he’s out there looking for trouble every night.

Those excuses aside – Kircus’ face is fine. Last time I checked, it was the other guy who had multiple fractures on his face. There’s no room on MY TEAM for people who could find themselves in jail past the age of 30 in a few months. If you can’t control yourself off the field, you don’t belong on the field – it’s a privilege, not a right, and Kircus’ time on this team has run out. There’s just no room or patience for this kind of news on our team this year. We’ve been through enough already.