Sam Hurd Arrest: Web's Most Controversial Opinions on Federal Drug Bust

Since Chicago Bears wide receiver Sam Hurd was arrested on federal drug charges, opinions from every angle of the Internet world have begun pouring out. Whether aimed at Hurd's actions, the Bears overlooking his apparent side job or the NFL, there's no shortage of outcry.

The Chicago Tribune reports Hurd expressed interest in becoming a drug kingpin to undercover government agents. Based on the charges against him, he could face up to 40 years in prison if found guilty.

It's a scandal that couldn't come at a worse time for the Bears, who continue to fight for their playoff lives with three games left in the regular season. The last thing they needed was to be restlessly questioned about the alleged act of a teammate.

Here are some of the controversial takes on Hurd that have come out over the past day.

Have We All Been Fooled?

Article

“Happy-go-lucky Sam Hurd was a card: a one-eyed Jack” by Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Argument

Potash explains how Hurd was always a stand-up guy in the locker room. He gives an example of the wide receiver staying late for a media session to help explain the rhythm problems that inexperienced quarterbacks can have with wideouts.

He concludes by saying it appears Hurd wasn't the guy he appeared to be in front of the media.

My Take

Hurd's alleged actions definitely came out of nowhere. He played with the Dallas Cowboys for four seasons before joining the Bears and there was never a hint that he was up to anything of this magnitude, which is why his teammates expressed so much shock.

While he still deserves his day in court to fight the charges, the evidence is hard to ignore. It makes you wonder if his nice-guy attitude was a conscious attempt to hide what was allegedly going on behind the scenes.

He obviously had at least one reporter fooled with his approach and there's likely many more who have dealt with him over the years who feel the same things at Potash. It illustrates that a person isn't always what their public persona would lead you to believe.

It's All About Greed

Article

“Sam Hurd Arrest: If Charges Are True, Bears Receiver's Idiocy Hard to Stomach” by Zachary Rymer of Bleacher Report.

Argument

Why did Hurd need to attempt this risky stunt when he's already making more than $1 million per season? Rymer opines that greed was the likely motivation behind Hurd's decision to do what he did.

My Take

I would agree that greed was the main motivation. Even though Hurd was making good money by average-person standards, he was still pretty low on the NFL totem pole. He was apparently looking for a way to supplement that income.

Also, we have no idea what his bank statement looked like. Plenty of professional athletes have blown through their large sums of contract cash with relative ease. Money tends to burn a hole in anybody's pocket and sports stars are no different.

Whenever Hurd gets his chance to defend himself, he'll probably give his reason for speaking with the undercover agents in the way he did. It will then be up to the public to decide if it's a believable excuse or not.

Homeland Security?

Article

“Bears need 'Homeland Security'” by Jim Miller of CSNChicago.com.

Argument

The Bears should have known more about Hurd's off-field endeavors. Miller suggests using Homeland Security, which he says has been used by universities for background checks, to discover potential problems before they arise.

My Take

While it's an interesting idea brought up by Miller, the idea of bringing such a large organization into the hiring of athletes seems a bit over the top. One incident like this shouldn't change the entire way a team does business.

Personal privacy is always a touchy subject and in-depth checks like that might scare players away. Even though it might let the team rest a fraction bit easier at the end of each day, it probably isn't worth the hassle that would come along with it.

Miller does bring up a good point about not knowing more about Hurd since he spends most of his week at the team facility. Between the coaching staff and his boatload of teammates, it's hard to imagine nobody knowing even the slightest thing about his alleged actions. Time will tell.

Bears Should Have Known

Article: “Bears look as if they dropped the ball” by David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune

Argument: There were red flags surrounding Hurd before the Bears signed him to a contract in July. The team didn't do nearly enough to make sure the wide receiver wasn't a character concern even though the organization has made that a priority.

My Take: Haugh is right. There's no doubt Chicago's front office deserves a hefty amount of criticism for signing Hurd. Especially since the columnist makes mention of a traffic stop involving the wide receiver just one day before getting signed.

It's important to remember the Bears haven't made many comments about the situation yet. Whether that's because of some type of ongoing investigation or just trying to keep the focus on football for the time being is unclear.

Just like Hurd, the Bears deserve a chance to clear the air with fans about what they did and didn't know during the entire process. The relationship between a franchise and its fan base is vital and Chicago's bond has always been tight. It shouldn't be broken quite yet.

A Study in Arrogance

Article

“Shocking Hurd story could be another case of arrogance gone wild” by Mike Freeman of CBS Sports.

Argument

Freeman uses the cases of Jamal Lewis and Nate Newton to illustrate how playing the NFL can give a player the sense of power and entitlement. He says that's the only reason any logical person could believe they would get away with an alleged huge operation.

My Take

Hurd's status as an athlete and the perks that usually come along with it might have given him that extra boost of confidence he needed to reportedly attempt the drug agreement, but it's hard to pinpoint any single factor in a situation like this.

It usually takes a perfect storm of factors, including greed, power and opportunity, for somebody to take a leap of faith like Hurd apparently did. There are plenty of players who feel that same sense of upper-tier status but wouldn't want to get involved in any scandalous activity.

Sometimes it's best to just write off a situation like this as an isolated incident and try to find ways to make sure it doesn't happen again. But, at the end of the day, it's always going to be a personal decision that can't be completely avoided with background checks and other measures of security.