Mychal Kendricks Gets Suspended Indefinitely

Source – Seahawks linebacker Mychal Kendricks was indefinitely suspended by the NFL on Tuesday following a review into his September guilty plea to insider trading charges, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported Tuesday.

Kendricks signed with the Seahawks in early September after he was cut by the Browns in August after Kendricks and co-defendant Damilare Sonoiki, were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and one count of securities fraud, per U.S. Attorney William McSwain. Kendricks pleaded guilty to the charges on Sept. 6.

He faces up to 25 years in prison when he’s sentenced in December.

Kendricks appeared in three games, including two starts, for Seattle and registered two sacks and 13 tackles.

You hate to see this happen. Just hate to see it happen. Especially to a class organization like Seattle. The team that has consistently led the league in illegal substance suspensions, personal foul penalties and illegal practice violations is the one that has to suffer for the white collar crimes Mychal Kendricks pulled when he was in Philly. Even after America’s Sweetheart Pete Carroll lobbied the league on Kendricks’ behalf, saying he’d done all the right things since the Seahawks signed him. Meaning, I guess, he hit the weight room, studied film, took coaching, and avoided enriching himself at the expense of your grandmother who’s struggling to eke out a living off your grandfather’s 401K.

So the team that had already just lost Earl Thomas, plus KJ Wright, not to mention Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor, Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett has to bid farewell to a yet another key member of their defense. Just as their about to face the LA Rams. Ouch.

If anything, in a weird sort of counter-intuitive way, I always felt like having a convicted Wall Street Ponzi scheme ripoff artist around sort of classed the NFL up. Investment scams are those kind of crimes that are almost sexy. Not quite like Art Thief or Jewel Thief, per se. But still the kind of things they make movies about. Think DiCaprio in Wolf of Wall Street. Giovanni Ribisi in Boiler Room. Michael Douglas in Wall Street. Dan Akroyd and Eddie Murphy in Trading Places. The sort of thing they have explained by Margot Robbie in a bubble bath:

For the league, it’s a hell of a step up from drunk driving, sexual assault or beating your wife and kids. At least financial criminals are achievers, scummy though they may be. Unfortunately this one won’t be around for a while, now that the NFL took the bold move of suspending a guy facing 25 years in federal PMITA prison. Too bad. Kendricks will be missed.