|
I guess Ricky Manning, Jr: Jock Extraordinaire
Manning Jr. charged with assault in L.A.
April 24, 2006
BY BRAD BIGGS Staff Reporter
The man the Bears are counting on to solve their secondary woes has his own problems right now.
Ricky Manning Jr., whom the Bears signed to an offer sheet worth as much as $21 million Friday, was arrested shortly after 3 a.m. Sunday in Los Angeles and charged with assault with a deadly weapon after a melee at a Denny's restaurant left a patron unconscious.
Manning, 25, was bailed out of jail, and Los Angeles Police Department detective Robert Lewis said late Sunday that a court date has not been set. What is set is that the Bears will owe Manning -- a cornerback signed to fill the void in the nickel package created by the retirement of Jerry Azumah -- a big chunk of money Friday if the Carolina Panthers decline to match the five-year contract, as expected.
The deal is front-loaded to discourage the Panthers, who have a tight salary-cap situation, from bringing Manning back. With a roster bonus of $5 million this season, his cap figure for 2006 will be between $6 million and $7 million.
According to Lewis, Manning was in a group that attacked a man in the restaurant after teasing him for working on a laptop computer.
"The group began by making comments that the victim looked like a geek or a nerd,'' Lewis said.
The victim asked the group to stop and then complained to a Denny's manager before someone in the group punched him in the face. He then was punched and kicked by multiple attackers until losing consciousness, Lewis said.
The group fled the restaurant, but the car Manning was in was pulled over by officers just blocks from the scene in Westwood Village near the campus of UCLA, where he played in college. According to Lewis, the victim, whom he would not identify, regained consciousness and identified Manning as one of his attackers. Manning has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon because the attack involved people kicking the victim with shoes on, Lewis said.
A source said Manning has said he was at the restaurant but had no part in the melee. It is not the first time Manning has been arrested. He was charged with assault after a bar fight in the same area five years ago today. His record has been clean since joining the NFL.
Authorities are hoping to make more arrests in the incident.
It's another headache for general manager Jerry Angelo to deal with while he sorts through the Thomas Jones situation. As reported in the Sun-Times on Saturday, Jones has stopped participating in the team's offseason program, and agent Drew Rosenhaus said his client is receptive to a trade.
-------------------------------------------------
I guess he didn't get the memo that he's not in high school anymore. Wouldn't that be awful to sign a guy on a front-heavy deal and have him arrested before the other team has even decided whether to match?
|
Linear Mode
