The Detroit Lions are looking at someone else to defend Matt Stafford this season after losing offensive lineman, Rodney Austin. Austin has been found guilty of multiple misdemeanor charges including 2 counts of assault. The Detroit Lions soon fired Austin after his arrest for these crimes in April. Austin has recently been sentenced in court to 12 months of supervised probation. Now a free agent, Austin can choose to play anywhere -- he just has to convince a team to take the chance on him.
Sports Illustrated has a breakdown of what happened on the day of the incident:
"The Detroit Lions waived Austin in April after he was arrested and charged with the four misdemeanor counts. He was accused of pushing a woman to the floor while she was holding their infant child, then preventing her from calling 911 by damaging and taking her cell phone."
As heinous as that sounds, Austin's agent, Mark Magazu, likes to paint Austin in a different light. Magazu explained to ESPN that the actions taken by his client that day are not of his normal demeanor:
"For this misdemeanor, we felt it was better for Rodney to have everything dismissed from his record after he completes the program than appeal the judge's decision to a jury, which likely would not go to trial for many months. I urge everyone to keep things in context: this is a misdemeanor, and Rodney maintains his innocence but sees no benefit to continued litigation over a misdemeanor. I've known him for years and he is a good, honest young man who should not be lumped together with the NFL's most notorious."
Do you believe that Austin is innocent? Did the Lions make the correct move in firing him from there team after his arrest? Is 12 months of supervised probation a reasonable sentence for his actions? We want to know what you think. Tell us your thoughts below.
