The 2002 Carolina Panthers
BONUS POINT HALL OF FAME - TEAM INDUCTION
The Carolina Panthers started out the 2002 season by picking up the famous He Hate Me of the XFL. He Hate Me didn't commit any crimes as a member of the team, but with 20/20 hindsight we can see that just picking up He Hate Me set the tone for a season of bonus point greatness.
Throughout the season there were various events sprinkled here and there such as special teams guys getting fined for hard hits or linemen fined for hitting their opponents. The CAR D earned a solid stream of bonus points off the field, and surprisingly they performing quite well on the field as well.
In the middle of October offensive lineman Chris Terry came up missing from practice roll call one day. Coach John Fox had no idea of his whereabouts. The Panthers eventually learned Terry was out of town dealing with a matter involving his wife - NyQuell. You know a man is trouble when he is married to a drug. Skipping practice was worth a few BPs, but this was not the last we would hear of NyQuell or her husband.
In early November we learned that the Panthers have the only defensive line in the league who love to diet! Brentson Buckner's agent's incredibly lame excuse after he was busted for steroids was that he was taking organic diet pills. Julius Peppers also caught on to the diet craze. His four game "diet" suspension messed up his shot at winning rookie of the year, although the diet may have helped him get 12 sacks in 12 games.
Later in the year WR Steve Smith was jailed and charged with a misdemeanor assault. Smith attacked another WR -- during a film session gone bad. Anthony Bright, the practice-squad player on the receiving end of the beatdown, had a broken nose, was hospitalized for two nights, and later required facial reconstructive surgery. Bright filed an assault charge with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police following his release from the hospital. According to fellow WR Isaac Byrd, the victim was "Pearl Harbored" in a completely unprovoked attack.
The Panthers showed they really didn't care about the matter when they handed out their punishment to Steve Smith: a one game suspension. It should be noted that Smith was nursing an injury and might have missed the game anyway. This non-punishment left many players on the team disgruntled.
Once again another Panther fugitive was on the run! This brings back memories of the old Rae Carruth days. A judge ordered Chris Terry arrested after he failed to appear in court on a misdemeanor charge of pushing his wife NyQuell into a wall during an argument at their home in south Charlotte. His defense attorney told the judge, "I can't find him. I don't understand why he's not here."
When Lamar Smith got arrested for drunken driving, the Panthers practically rewarded him. It turns out that Lamar has been getting into trouble with drinking and driving since his rookie season back in 1994 with the Seattle Seahawks. He was drunk driving in '94 with some teammates as passengers, and wrapped his car around a pole. One of the guys was injured, and another player was paralyzed. Lamar's got off on that charge because he had tricked the police into thinking another guy was driving. Smith's blood-alcohol level was never tested, and the case ended in a mistrial.
You would think that with his history of drunken driving, L. Smith would be released by the Panthers and / or thrown in jail. Instead the team put him on paid leave for the rest of the season. So the net result of Lamar's latest off-the-field effort was that he got paid to sit out of work for the rest of the year, giving him the opportunity to get drunk every night, and still get a full paycheck. Party on, dude!
To cap off the season, kick returner Michael Bates was busted for drunken driving. Being a true pro, he naturally refused to take a breathalyzer test. The trooper said Bates' eyes were red, glossy and bloodshot and that his speech was slurred. Still, the old refusing-the-breathalyzer ploy worked like a charm. Later on that summer he was acquitted of the charge after a judge ruled there was insufficient evidence to prove the accusation.
After the ruling by Mecklenburg District Judge Hugh Lewis, Bates inadvertently admitted that he was indeed drunk.
"I'm happy I was found not guilty," Bates said. "It was a learning experience. I understand not to drink and drive. Even if it's after one beer. It could be real dangerous."
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