Character issue surfaces for Arizona Cardinals’ rookie
By Jim Koch
The Arizona Cardinals drafted Christian Kirk despite the fact that the rookie was arrested just weeks before the NFL Draft commenced
Many fans of the Arizona Cardinals will probably excuse what Christian Kirk did this past February. After all, college-aged kids have a tendency to consume alcohol, and some will even act a little rowdy at times. Kirk apparently is not exempt from this type of behavior.
News broke on Monday that the Cards’ second-round draft pick was arrested just weeks before April’s NFL Draft. Kirk and a group of friends reportedly threw rocks at cars while leaving the Waste Management Phoenix Open, breaking at least one window. The Arizona wide receiver was charged with disorderly conduct and property damage.
Cardinals’ officials have admitted that they were aware of the incident before the draft, but elected to select Kirk anyway. General manager Steve Keim and company had discussed what had occurred with the Arizona native, and were satisfied with the wideout’s explanation. Kirk was taken 47th-overall, and is expected to have a prominent role in the Cards’ offense this season.
Though there’s worse things that the pass-catcher could have done, the problem may not just go away. There’s a possibility that Kirk could face some disciplinary action from the league for the indiscretion. Discipline that could include a suspension for the Texas A&M product somewhere down the line.
Both Keim and new head coach Steve Wilks have spoke about acquiring players with good character. They arent looking for “choirboys” as Wilks put it, but are searching for individuals who have the ability to make good decisions. For Kirk to do such a thing with the draft approaching showed some really poor judgement.
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With a little luck, this episode will eventually go away and be forgotten. Keim has been riding a positive wave since the draft, and certainly didn’t need something like this to put a damper on it. Kirk obviously has some growing up to do, and the faster he can do it, the better.