[CBFF] How long till the love for Lovie?

[mactbone]

I looked up more credible sources for you. Notice JA's
strong condemnation, "We are disappointed in Ricky's
involvement in the incident that occurred this past
April." When told of the contents of the probation
report Lovie said, "I haven't heard that, and I'd be
disappointed if that was the case, but I don't know
that to be fact. We have high-character guys, and
Ricky is one." They run a tight ship over there. The
article from the Naperville Sun mentions that Dwight
Smith was suspended for the first Vikes game - before
the league had done anything about his ticket for
indecent conduct.

The probation report is at
http://www.nbcsports.com/download/2006/0927/108428.pdf

Here's the NBCSports.com story:
http://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/107846/detail.html
LOS ANGELES -- Early on a Sunday morning last April,
at a Denny's in Westwood, near the UCLA campus, a
Swedish citizen of Persian descent named Soroush Sabzi
was minding his own business when, according to court
documents, he found himself the target of insults.

Bears defensive back Ricky Manning Jr. was in court
Tuesday where he pleaded no contest to a felony
assault charge.Sabzi, a student with an avid interest
in computers, now 26, was called a "faggot," according
to a Los Angeles County probation department report
unsealed Tuesday. He was also called either a "f------
Jew" or an "ugly f------ Jew," according to the
report. He was told, "You look gay," and called
"geeky," the report says.

Sabzi tried to signal for help. Instead, he was
slapped. A few moments later, he was on the ground
and, the probation report says, citing a Los Angeles
police department account, he was hit some more and
fell into a bathroom at the restaurant.

Ricky Manning Jr., a Chicago Bears cornerback who
played college football at UCLA, pleaded no contest
Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court to a single
count of felony assault in connection with his role in
the incident. Manning could have been sent to state
prison for up to four years; he was sentenced to three
years probation, ordered to perform 100 hours of
community service and directed to attend 52 weeks of
anger-management classes.

The probation report calls Manning, 25, who played for
the Carolina Panthers for three years and in April,
within days of his Westwood arrest, signed a
$21-million, multi-year deal with the Bears, "an
ongoing threat to the community's safety." Manning and
his defense attorney, Mark Werksman, declined to
comment. However, on Wednesday, Manning made a
statement regarding his plea agreement.

The action marks the latest turn in a case whose
underlying details had, until the release of court
documents Tuesday, remained from public scrutiny.

Those documents are all but sure to prompt the Bears,
as well as the NFL, to weigh a response to disclosures
about an attack Sabzi's attorney likens to a hate
crime. "He was definitely provoked. And he was
beaten," attorney Aviv Tuchman said of Sabzi.

Moreover, the probation report suggests that Manning
has "reportedly aligned himself with gang values and
gang ties" and has been "implicated as the shooter of
a rival gang member." Those allegations are
unsubstantiated; the report contains no further
details or explanation. The deputy probation officer
who wrote the report did not return a call seeking
comment.

Bears general manager Jerry Angelo, in a statement
issued early Tuesday evening in Chicago, said, "We are
disappointed in Ricky's involvement in the incident
that occurred this past April.”

With the 3-0 Bears playing host Sunday to the 3-0
Seattle Seahawks, Angelo went on to note, "Situations
like these are embarrassing to our football team and
create unnecessary distractions. We will continue to
follow the NFL's personal conduct policy, which
retains jurisdiction on this issue."

It remains uncertain if Bears officials were familiar
with the details of the court file before issuing the
team’s statement. NFL officials could not be reached
Tuesday for comment.

The action Tuesday underscores the considerations of
judge, prosecution and defense in a complicated case
that has sparked both criminal and civil proceedings
and revolves around what the prosecutor in the matter,
Deputy District Attorney Hamid Towfigh, has called a
"group beating."

Criminal charges against Jacksonville Jaguars rookie
running back Maurice Jones-Drew, who played college
football at UCLA had previously had been dismissed, in
June, the Los Angeles County district attorney's
office citing insufficient evidence. Drew's attorney,
Aaron Dyer, said Sabzi had mistakenly identified Drew.
Dyer also said, "Maurice didn't make any derogatory
comments."
 
The probation report suggests that Manning has
"reportedly aligned himself with gang values and gang
ties."  
 
An assault charge against another former UCLA football
player, running back Tyler Ebell, who finished his
college career at UTEP, remains outstanding—though the
felony count was lowered, after a preliminary hearing
earlier this month, to a misdemeanor. Ebell could not
be located Tuesday for comment.

A civil suit was filed May 16 in Los Angeles Superior
Court against both Jones-Drew and Manning seeking,
among other remedies, punitive damages. Dyer,
Jones-Drew's attorney, said Sabzi's lawyer has agreed
to dismiss Jones-Drew from the civil litigation. That
would leave Manning alone.

The criminal case against Manning was made more
complex because he has a prior conviction on his
record. The probation report details a misdemeanor
assault conviction from a nightclub fight in Westwood;
that incident, according to the report, resulted in
December, 2003, in the order of three years probation.
Those three years were still running when Manning and
Sabzi crossed paths at the Denny's in Westwood.

The probation report said Sabzi was seated at the
Denny's about 3 in the morning April 23, wearing
headphones and listening to music. Even with the
headphones, the report says, he could hear a group at
the table next to him "laughing and making racial
comments towards him."

He took his headphones off and said, "What's up?" And,
"Leave me alone."

Instead, the report says, the remarks kept coming:
"Are you a faggot?"

"I'm not a faggot," he said, according to the report.
"You guys are faggots, talk to the wall."

Another group of men, including Manning, walked over,
the report says. Manning stands 5-foot-9 and weighs
188 pounds -- by NFL standards, far from extreme. He
nonetheless has an earned reputation as a big hitter
and a big-game player. Earlier this year, he told the
Daily Herald, a suburban Chicago newspaper, "Maybe I'm
a little crazy, or maybe it's just instincts. I've
never been one to duck out of a hit."

Sabzi asked Manning, "What's your problem?"

The report says Manning reportedly responded, "Are you
a faggot?" The report adds that Sabzi "was not sure if
[Manning] also said, 'Mother------.' "

"I'm not a faggot, you're a faggot, you are staring at
me," Sabzi said, according to the report.

Manning then slapped him, the report said.

A few moments later, Sabzi stood up to call for help
and was "suddenly struck on the back of the head, fell
and lost consciousness for a few seconds." The report
does not say who administered that blow.

While Sabzi was on the ground, he was hit and kicked,
the report says. Again, it does not identify the
assailant or assailants.

The probation report says Sabzi "positively
identified" Manning as "definitely being the person
who stood next to him, called him a "f------ Jew" or
"ugly f------ Jew" and struck him on the face, nose
and back of head."

The report also says Sabzi "gets really bad headaches"
and "does not know if he will be able to read again."
It says he asks, "Why me?"

A video camera inside the restaurant recorded the
altercation. Prosecutor Towfigh said it shows Manning
slapping Sabzi and then Manning being "carried off,
away from the venue." But for the prior case, Towfigh
said, the felony count against Manning would have been
a misdemeanor.

Thus Werksman, the defense lawyer, was able to strike
a deal for three years probation. If Manning
successfully completes the anger management classes
and does his community service, the felony count will
at the end of the three-year term drop to a
misdemeanor.

Towfigh, asked if Manning received favorable treatment
because he is a professional football players, said,
"No."

At the same time, Judge James R. Brandlin made it
clear in court that Manning faces time behind bars if
he goes astray.

The judge noted that it was not his role at Tuesday's
hearing to determine the truth of the allegations of
name-calling. Even so, he emphasized that he was
"particularly troubled" by those allegations. Were
Manning to appear again before him, the judge said,
there is a "very good chance" the outcome would be
state prison.

"You understand?" the judge asked the football player.

Manning, head bowed, hands behind him, said quietly,
"Yes, Your Honor." 


The Naperville Sun had this:
LAKE FOREST -- Bears Coach Lovie Smith said he was
unaware of details in a Los Angeles County probation
report revealed by nbcsports.com in which Ricky
Manning Jr. is alleged to have made homophobic slurs
to Soroush Sabzi at a Denny's restaurant in April,
precipitating the physical altercation that led to
Manning pleading no contest to felony assault charges
Tuesday.
According to the document, Manning asked Sabzi, "Are
you a (expletive)?" It also called Manning, who was
convicted of misdemeanor assault in Los Angeles in
2002, "an ongoing threat to the community's safety."

"He is a high-character guy," Smith said of Manning,
"And I haven't seen that. Did it say Ricky said that?"

When told it did, Smith continued: "I haven't heard
that, and I'd be disappointed if that was the case,
but I don't know that to be fact. We have
high-character guys, and Ricky is one."

The Bears have said they will let the NFL handle
punishment of Manning and that it is out of their
hands.

While penalties must come from the league office, the
Bears could choose to bench Manning, as Minnesota
coach Brad Childress did with safety Dwight Smith in
the Vikings' opener. Dwight Smith was on the inactive
list after being ticketed for indecent conduct.
Childress never provided an explanation, but the
message was clear as Smith was not injured.
-Chris
--- Phil DeNomme <pdenomme at gmail.com> wrote:

> Um...he's not the one that beat him unconscious. 
> And please provide me with
> a link that he called him a fucking jew and faggot. 
> The DA himself said
> that RMJ DID NOT perform the absolute beating.  He
> shoved him and left.  I
> guess if that's your criteria for suspension, then
> I'm glad you're not in
> charge.
> 

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com