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Bruce Miller case continues troubling trend for the 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers cut Bruce Miller following his second arrest. USA TODAY Sports

Bruce Miller case continues troubling trend for the 49ers

Under the guidance of former owner Eddie DeBartolo, the San Francisco 49ers became a winning franchise built on a foundation of class. DeBartolo ran his organization in a way that made players want to play for him and not bring shame or embarrassment to the organization. Unfortunately, current 49ers CEO Jed York doesn’t have the same buy-in from the players or his staff.

Since 2011, the 49ers are fourth in NFL player arrests with 15 total arrests in that time. The latest, a second assault arrest for tight end Bruce Miller, is yet another troubling off-field incident for the franchise. The 49ers have more arrests in the past five years than they did in the 10 years prior, and the uptick in arrests happens to coincide with the promotion of Trent Baalke to vice president of player personnel and eventually GM. Baalke clearly values production over character concerns, drafting players like Aldon Smith, Aaron Lynch, NaVorro Bowman and Rashard Robinson, who all had character concerns coming into the league. He also has a track record of handling other troublesome players awkwardly, highlighted by his handling Ray McDonald.

On a bright note, Bowman has proved to be a solid draft choice and hasn’t had any scrapes with law enforcement since he was drafted in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft, the first draft where Baalke was the leader, but Bowman did have off-field concerns from his time at Penn State, including injuring a student in a fight and violating terms of his probation in relation to the fight. And while Bowman has become not only a great player, but also a model citizen in his professional career, one has to wonder if this pick gave Baalke a feeling of invincibility when it comes to drafting players with character concerns.

It certainly wasn't his last time taking a gamble on a player with red flags. Meanwhile, Aaron Lynch was suspended under the league's substance abuse policy this year. He will miss the first four games this season and is now in the third step of the program, seeing as he had a failed test in college and had an unreadable specimen on his most recent failed test in the NFL.

No one knows how 2016 draft pick Rashard Robinson's case will play out, but the 49ers certainly hope the corner has matured since his arrest for breaking and entering into another player's apartment at LSU. 

Baalke, of course, took a big gamble on Smith, taking him with the seventh pick in the 2011 draft. According to Fox Sports' Alex Marvez, Smith had potential concerns coming out of college, stating, “But even if a player doesn't run afoul of the law, off-field incidents and deviant behaviors often come to the attention of NFL teams through the scouting process.”

Smith was arrested five times in three years with charges including DUI on three different occasions, vandalism, hit-and-run, and felony weapons charges, which were later reduced to misdemeanors. Smith was also taken into custody at LAX and charged with a false report of a bomb threat.

What was Smith's punishment for all of these transgressions? After being let go by the 49ers, he was signed to the Oakland Raiders and played in nine games before being served a yearlong suspension by the NFL for violating the league's Personal Conduct Policy.

Meanwhile, Ray McDonald was arrested three times between 2010 and 2015 and was named in a sexual assault investigation in 2014. His arrests were for drunken driving in 2010; assaulting his ex-fiancee, who was pregnant with his child; and once again for misdemeanor domestic violence and child endangerment. The latest instance involved McDonald assaulting a woman while she was holding his son, who was born six months prior.

What was McDonald's punishment for these transgressions? He was signed by the Bears after talking to Chairman George McCaskey and convincing him that the previous allegations were a thing of the past. His defensive coordinator, Vic Fangio, went to bat for him and said the headlines were worse than the actions were because "ultimately, he was never charged with anything. We feel good about it here."

Miller has been arrested twice in the past 17 months, both for some form of assault. He was arrested in March 2015 for assaulting his girlfriend and breaking her phone. The initial report stated that Miller shoved his girlfriend and broke her phone after a verbal argument. Later, he stated he never shoved her, and she changed her story to coincide with his.

Then, this past Sunday, Miller was arrested for assaulting a 70-year-old man and his son at the Marriott, where he was told he was at the wrong room.

Miller's punishment for his transgressions was to be cut by the Niners but his ultimate punishment is yet to be seen. It appears the former defensive end turned fullback turned tight end seems to have a decent chance at being signed somewhere else given the league's history with giving out chances the way Oprah gave away gifts at the taping of her shows.

The 49ers and Baalke have a twisted relationship with deciding how to go about dealing with productive players and their lacking moral compasses. Aldon Smith, Bruce Miller and Ray McDonald have all been arrested multiple times in the past six years. The 49ers have parted ways with each of these players, and each time it has been a quicker process than the last, but there is a deeper issue at play here. And this isn’t just an issue within the 49ers organization.

The Titans, Buccaneers, Colts, Vikings and Broncos all have as many or more arrests as the 49ers do since 2010. Greg Hardy was signed to the Dallas Cowboys last year after missing the season before because the Panthers suspended him due to a domestic violence arrest. He allegedly threw Nicole Holder, his then girlfriend, on a couch covered in loaded rifles and shotguns after tossing her into a shower, where she fell into the bathtub, and he drug her out by her hair and then strangled her with both hands.

Do you know what Nicole Holder told the police when she was running away from his apartment scared for her life? She said, “It doesn’t matter. Nothing will happen to him anyways.”

The sad part is she’s not wrong. While Ray Rice hasn’t found his way back onto an NFL roster, Greg Hardy did and was lauded by his owner and classified as a leader. What message does this send? What does this say about what is important to the NFL and the powers that be?

It says that the NFL needs to have a policy in place where players don’t feel like they can get away with anything. Hardy was in a different situation than Ray Rice was because everything about Rice’s altercation was on video and Hardy’s was based on testimony with bruises and handprints for proof, but there was no video evidence to show what actually happened in that apartment. And what about Giants kicker Josh Brown? His now ex-wife has accused him of domestic violence on over 20 occasions, and yet, even with his latest arrest, the Giants re-signed the 37-year-old kicker. Meanwhile, the NFL suspended him for just one game despite the new policy of suspending players who commit domestic abuse.

In a letter to owners, Roger Goodell stated, "I take responsibility both for the decision and for ensuring that our actions in the future properly reflect our values. I didn't get it right, simply put, we have to do better."

Unfortunately for Goodell and his already soiled reputation, his actions with Hardy and Brown don’t instill confidence in this process being taken seriously.

Baalke and the 49ers did right by parting ways with Miller merely hours after his assault on a 70-year-old man was made public knowledge. Maybe they are turning a corner. Lynch said the Niners have had his back since day one with his suspension. Phenomenal. Maybe they are working to restore some of that family feel to the organization. Lynch could have failed his test due to drinking too much water. His test was failed due to the fact that it was diluted and unreadable — so maybe he hasn’t had actually slipped up but is a victim of circumstance.

Unfortunately for Lynch, Baalke has not set him up to receive the benefit of the doubt with all of his poor decisions, most notably holding on to players who came into the league with concerns and have had those concerns become realities — along with players who weren’t flagged having run-ins with the law under his watch.

This is clearly an issue that needs to be addressed by every team and the NFL as a corporate entity: 317 arrests across the NFL since 2010 is an unacceptable number.

Yes, this number is low in relation the number of players who have played in the NFL in that same time frame compared to the general population of America, but that doesn’t excuse these athletes from their obligations to their teammates and coaches, nor does it excuse the NFL from holding people accountable to the standards it suggests it holds dear. Nowhere is this more evident than in San Francisco, where the 49ers can't seem to get out of their own way.

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