The Buffalo summer is well underway. The weather is finally starting to be nice and the fans are very excited for this upcoming Bills and Sabres season. I can' remember how long it's been for fans to be very excited for both teams, let alone simply one. With the wait comes a lot of down time and in that down time as many of you know leads to some interesting and exciting things happening, both good and bad.
That's especially true with both the Bills and Sabres as one member of each organization did something over the last couple of days that brought upon shame and embarrassment to themselves and their respective organizations. Bills offensive line coach Aaron Kromer has been arrested for allegedly pushing down and punching a minor over what appears to be three boys taking beach chairs from his property without permission. The other is recent Sabres' acquisition Ryan O'Reilly crashed his truck into a Tim Horton's and left his truck behind. His blood alcohol level was apparently a .08.
Kromer spotted three young boys taking lawn beach chairs from his yard without his permission. He heard what was going on and saw some kids (i don't know how he could tell they were kids assuming it's as dark as it was) doing something. Rather than call the cops, he went out there to confront the kids. After a heated argument, Kromer grabbed one of the kids, pushed him to the ground and punched him according to the police report. If you can't trust a police report what can you trust? Until I learn otherwise I will go by what the police report says.
Another disturbing thing listed on the police report was that Kromer threatened to kill the boy and his parents if they called the police about this. That's not a good look. Unfortunately for Kromer, the threat to kill did not work. Can you imagine Kromer's wife? "Honey you should call the cops about what's going on outside." Aaron replies "no, I will go out there and I will threaten them, punch one of them, and threaten to kill them and their families. We're all good honey."
Why wouldn't Kromer just call the cops especially if it's dark outside? Why would you risk going out there and you don't know who they are and maybe one of them has a gun or something? It's not very smart on Kromer but based on this guy's past track record of judgment, he doesn't have very good judgment. Just like a lot of football people, a lot of these meatheads use their football culture of violence to try to solve issues rather than use common sense.
Don't forget, Kromer last year leaked out to the media that the Chicago Bears regretted giving Jay Cutler that big contract the year before. That drew the ire of many in the Bears' facility and locker room and the media which led to Kromer being fired after the season was over. He should have been gone right on the spot. He seems like an idiot. He should probably be gone over this but I am sure the Bills will wait for the facts to come out before making a move.
I believe in innocent until proven guilty but I would not be upset if they let him go. It's not the end of the world if Aaron Kromer isn't on the staff. You can find another offensive line coach and I am sure many of the players know what's going on as it is because they've had mini camp and OTAs to learn. It's not the end of the world, at least it wasn't Rex Ryan doing this. If that's the case they'd have to do what they can to keep him and discipline him. Kromer, not so much you can move on from him. I didn't like the hire of him in the first place as I am not a fan of the guy based on what happened last year and now this makes me like him even less.
This isn't the first time this offseason a member of the Buffalo Bills has been in hot water for something. Remember last week when second round pick Ronald Darby was criticized for his comments on the Florida State QB hitting that woman on the camera and has been kicked out of the school (http://www.wgrz.com/story/news/2015/07/07/bills-cornerback-under-fire-for-response-to-fsu-assault/29821723/)?
Darby did say hitting women is 100% wrong but drew criticism for saying there was a double standard because the woman hit the QB first before the QB (De'Andre Johnson) slugged her in retaliation and it was caught on camera. While I do agree with Darby about the double standard because I don't think women should hit men in case they think they can get away with it, men should not hit women back because it's simply common sense.
Darby seems to also be sticking up for his college teammate and unfortunately, these young kids are too committed to their teammates, especially college teammates, to the point where they lose proper perspective. Much like Kromer using his football instincts, Darby uses them along with his blind college love to defend a Florida State player. Much like a lot of Bills fans who don't think the Bills do anything wrong, Darby defends a Florida State player for thinking he's done nothing wrong.
Let's not forget, Darby might have a role in covering up the Jameis Winston rape case in December 2012. He was named a witness in the investigation to the rape committed by Winston, who was never charged with rape. Darby did not testify against Winston in a student conduct hearing and was not disciplined by the school. I said it after the draft, I wouldn't have drafted Darby despite some of his skills simply because of what has been alleged to have happened.
Isn't it possible to find someone albeit not as fast but somewhat closely skilled that doesn't have some sort of baggage around him you can take instead? What really is a second round pick cornerback going to do to make this team a playoff and championship team? He might be a very good corner, he might be a great corner. Obviously the Bills and Rex Ryan love him or else they wouldn't draft him with their "first pick." I guess we'll see in due time.
I don't need him that badly to make this team look more foolish as they already have had some interesting things going on such as signing Richie Incognito, the Kromer incident, the taking La'El Collins to dinner while he was being investigated for being a suspect in the shooting death of his pregnant girlfriend, and even drafting Darby's Florida State teammate Karlos Williams, who was alleged to have punched his pregnant girlfriend. Good job Florida State, way to run a great program Jimbo Fisher. He needs to be fired because coaches have been fired for a lot less. I guess the Bills are "building a bully" for sure.
O'Reilly has brought upon further excitement for the upcoming Sabres season (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/06/sabres-officially-draft-jack-eichel-and.html (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/07/ryan-oreilly-signs-seven-year-deal-its.html). Optimism should still be high, but it will be a little bit deflated. O'Reilly is due in court on August 20 and if convicted he will face up to six months in jail, $400-$2,000 fine, seven points on his license, and a suspended license up to two years.
O'Reilly probably will and should be suspended by the NHL and even Buffalo Sabres. I wouldn't mind him being sat for however long at the start of the season to teach him a lesson and the others a lesson. Thank God he didn't hurt or kill anyone else. I do want him punished but I don't want him gone and I am not regretting getting him. He's young and made a mistake, albeit a big one. But we've all done that ourselves. It's a ridiculous double standard I get it as he would get punished but not kicked off the team like a 4th line player would, much like an offensive line coach like Kromer would be fired instead of a head coach or even top notch coordinator.
That's just the way sports works. You don't have to like it but it's the way it works.
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