Former Houston Oiler's Place Kicker, Tony Zendejas, Arrested on Suspicion of Rape

According to the Associated Press, Tony Zendejas, a former place kicker for the Houston Oilers, as well as the Los Angeles Rams, has been arreasted for drugging and raping a patron at his sports bar. The incident allegedly happened, in January, at the sports bar that Zendejas owns in Pomona, California. Zendejas was arrested on July 10, at his Yorba Linda, California home. Zendejas is charged with one count of rape of an unconscious person, rape by use of drugs, sodomy by anesthesia or controlled substance and sodomy of an unconscious victim.

Earlier reports indicated that Zendejas was being held in lieu of the $260,000 bail. However, the Los Angeles times reported Zendejas' had been released on Thursday after making bail. Zendejas's attorney, Timothy Younger said "Mr. Zendejas was shocked and surprised on being advised of the allegations against him. He is anxious to begin immediately defending his good name and he is very grateful and appreciative of the support he has already received from family and friends who know these allegations are simply slanderous." Younger added that he has been Zendejas's attorney for 15 years.

Zendejas retired from the NFL in 1995.

Zendejas is only one of many to make the NFL Police Blotter in recent months. The NFL Police blotter has been staying active in recent years. The arrest and subsequent incarceration of Michael Vick on animal cruelty and dog fighting charges has been followed in close succession number of crimes of varying degrees of severity. His brother, Marcus Vick, a former running back for the Miami Dolphins was arrested for DUI, Tank Johnson of the Chicago Bears was charged with probation and weapons violations. Former San Diego Charger, Terrance Kiel, who was recently killed in a one car accident near Scripps Ranch in San Diego, had several run-ins with police, including being indicted for shipping codeine laced cough syrup to Texas where it could be mixed with soft drinks to create a concoction called "lean". Yet another former Charger, Steve Foley, has been arrested and indicted on charges of failing to secure his dogs. The dogs are alleged to have attacked one of his neighbors and killed her puppy as she walked to the bus stop to pick up her daughter. This was not Foley's first run-in with police. His career with the Chargers was cut short when he was shot by an off-duty police officer during an alleged altercation in front of his home in the Poway, California. The list could continue but the implication is clear.

As long as I can remember, it has seemed that sports and crime have gone hand in hand. Some years ago, I was reading an issue of Sports Illustrated article referencing some crime or another that had been committed by a University of Colorado football player. I remember very poignantly a statement included in the article from one of the members of the Boulder Police force. The officer said that they used the University of Colorado Football program as an addendum to the mug book, often times pulling out the program to ask victims of crime if the suspect, was a member of the University of Colorado's Football team.

Many of these athletes start out in college being enticed and overindulged because of their athletic prowess. Unfortunately that sense of entitlement seems to follow many of those who make the transition to the NFL. It is easy to understand that a lot of these young men may in fact, come from homes and lives that were in disarray at best and violently dysfunctional at worst. Their athleticism has given them the ability to get out of their situations but it does not remove the scars that they carry.

While I hold the athlete accountable for their actions, I believe that the athletic programs and NFL teams need to work harder to help these young men to become beneficial members of society. Much is made of the role model argument, but I feel that it goes deeper than even being a role model for others. Many of these young men simply don't have an understanding of what is proper behavior. That is a more profound issue because it goes to the basics of being a person. I know that there are plenty of young men in the sports arena who are model citizens. However, they are not the ones that the spotlight falls upon. The idea is to understand the underlying motivations for much of this anti social and immature behavior.

Coming from a dysfunctional home does not give anyone a pass to act a complete fool, but if a recruiter or coach knows that he is recruiting a player whose home situation is tumultuous then they must know that simply removing the kid from the situation is not going to change the behavior patterns or defense mechanisms they have developed to deal with their home situation.

Sources

http://www.sandiego6.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=d81ffc39-f332-46d6-9808-b4faefdfa573&rss=tick

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=hruby/061228

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-kicker11-2008jul11,0,4877428.story

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3481842