Bradham arrest puts Pederson on the spot
The Eagles owe it to their fans to assemble the best team possible, and sometimes that means acquiring players who might not be ideal role models. Sometimes that means taking risks on players with police records, checkered pasts, and questionable character.
The Eagles owe it to their fans to assemble the best team possible, and sometimes that means acquiring players who might not be ideal role models. Sometimes that means taking risks on players with police records, checkered pasts, and questionable character.
But there is a line as thin as Nigel Bradham's skin between offering second chances and selling your soul in the name of winning football games. And crossing over that line can backfire like a 1971 Ford Pinto. Take the Cowboys, for instance.
The Eagles aren't anywhere near the Cowboys. They aren't even in the same league and haven't been for more than two decades. But this past offseason the Eagles gambled on more players than in recent memory and certainly compared with the previous three seasons under Chip Kelly.
They drafted three players who were involved in various transgressions, two on more than one occasion, and they signed a free agent (Bradham) who was arrested in Miami on Monday for allegedly assaulting a hotel employee - "without provocation" - for taking too long to open a beach umbrella, according to the police arrest affidavit.
Last month, Nelson Agholor was accused of sexually assaulting a stripper on the day the Eagles ended minicamp. The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office eventually cleared the wide receiver, but the incident called into question, at least, Agholor's decision making.
Doug Pederson didn't draft Agholor. The former first-round pick came during Kelly's tenure, and he came with a squeaky-clean reputation. But this offseason - Pederson's first as head coach - won't be just about the kinds of players he's comfortable having on his roster.
It will also be about the guidelines he sets as the Eagles' chief disciplinarian. It will be about the persona Pederson establishes with his players as coach. Will he be like his mentor Andy Reid - a stern father figure? Will he be like Kelly - a stoic with low tolerance for off-the-field nonsense? Or will he be chummy with the players and risk having them take advantage of that bond?
"There's an expectation level that needs to be upheld, and it starts with me," Pederson said. "I have to be very clear from where I stand with the players and the coaches for that matter, and make sure they understand."
Pederson's responses to both the Agholor and Bradham incidents were peculiar. On Monday, he said he hadn't yet spoken to the former, and when asked for his initial thoughts, the best Pederson could come up with was: "We all make mistakes, we learn from them, we move on."
Agholor declined to answer questions when he reported to the NovaCare Complex for training camp Wednesday, but he said that he would talk Thursday.
Pederson gave a similar answer when asked about Bradham's arrest. He said he wasn't going to "speculate" about "an ongoing investigation." He did meet with the linebacker Tuesday night, and they had what Pederson called "a great conversation."
"He's obviously humbled by it," Pederson said, "and he understands the situation and the magnitude."
Bradham reported to camp Wednesday, and Pederson said that he would participate in the first practice. The 26-year-old linebacker was unavailable for comment. Asked whether Bradham could be released pending the conclusion of the investigation, Pederson said: "I don't foresee anything like that."
A better answer would have been, "I don't know because I don't yet know the outcome."
Sources close to Bradham disputed the version of events detailed by the alleged victim, Jean Eliphete Courtois, in the affidavit. One source said that the dispute was initially over how many chairs Bradham's group could have and how close they could be to the water.
An argument ensued and got heated, the source said, and when Bradham's girlfriend was hit in the head - possibly by a punch thrown at Bradham by Courtois - Bradham retaliated and struck Courtois three times.
According to the affidavit, other members of Bradham's group then joined in the attack and Courtois "sustained a broken nose, contusions to the face, and a laceration to the lip." He was treated at Mount Sinai Hospital.
Contacted by the Inquirer Wednesday, the 50-year-old Courtois said that Bradham's account wasn't true and that he had never been in a fight in his life. He questioned the implication that he would get into a physical altercation when outnumbered and with someone almost half his age.
"I am the victim," Courtois said. "Why would I fight anybody that much younger and bigger than me?"
Courtois said he weighs 160 pounds. The Eagles list Bradham at 6-foot-2, 241 pounds.
Pederson said that he planned to address the team again Wednesday evening and reiterate his expectations for their behavior.
"We're in a high-profile business," Pederson said, "and being in the city of Philadelphia, things get magnified a little bit, and you've just got to be smart and careful, and make good choices."
It's unclear why Pederson would think sexual assault allegations and second-degree felonies would be less magnified in places other than Philly. Agholor was cleared and Bradham's investigation is ongoing, but their judgment and disregard for possible ramifications were audacious.
That's two incidents in a six-week span. The Eagles went without an off-the-field episode during Kelly's last two years. His handling of Riley Cooper marked his tenure after the receiver was caught on video using a racial slur. But Kelly went to the extreme to avoid players with character concerns - sometimes to a fault.
He almost never had to worry about doling out discipline, however. Was that because of whom he had on the roster or because the players knew he had a zero-tolerance policy? Defensive end Connor Barwin said that Pederson has instituted a code similar to Kelly's.
"It's very much the same," Barwin said. "We are always representing not only ourselves and this organization, but this city and our families."
So far, two guys didn't get the message.
@Jeff_McLane