Browns defensive tackle Caleb Brantley learned a lesson.
Let’s hope the other members of the team’s 2017 NFL Draft did, too.
The sworn complaint filed against Brantley in Gainesville, Fla. was dismissed by the Florida state attorney on Wednesday because of “insufficient evidence.” He had been the subject of a misdemeanor battery probe for allegedly punching a University of Florida student in the face and knocking her unconscious outside a Gainesville bar on April 13.
Brantley’s attorney said recently that she expected the complain to be dismissed soon.
Despite the good news for Brantley – and the Browns – the uncertainty of the situation caused the Florida product to free fall through the draft as teams shied away from him. Originally projected to be a second-rounder, he wasn’t taken until the sixth round, at No. 185 overall by the Browns, who did so tentatively.
Yes, it all worked out well in the end for Brantley, but hopefully it scared him enough that he will re-think the way he spends his nightlife.
He’s not your average young adult anymore. He’s now an NFL player, with a lot of new-found wealth and notoriety, and as such he has to be careful 24/7/365 about what he says and does, and where and to whom he does and says it. He has no wiggle room.
In fact, in a lot of cases, he is guilty until proven innocent, as indicated by what happened to him in the draft.
To be sure, a lot of careers in all sports have been ruined not necessarily by what happens on the field, but off it.
The league brings in all kinds of people to talk to drafted players to warn them of these dangers. Some of the players listen, while others turn a deaf ear. They think it can’t happen to them. But then it does.
Now that it nearly occurred to a player sitting in the room, perhaps all these young Browns will pay close attention when the league’s people speak to them.
The club can only hope.
