Minnesota Vikings' Chris Cook Deserves to Be Suspended for the Year

“There’s two sides to every story.”

That’s what Vikings cornerback Chris Cook tweeted after getting out of jail.

Chris Cook allegedly strangled his girlfriend and hit her on the side of the head. This alleged act put Cook in jail and made him the 36th time a Vikings player has been arrested since 2000, which gives the Vikings the most arrests for any NFL team since the turn of the century. It’s a great way to represent a 1-6 football team.

Now a team’s record shouldn't determine the punishment of a player, but it’s time for the Vikings to lay down the law. Cook could get jailed up to three years; it’s not expected that he will, but either way the Vikings went ahead and suspended him indefinitely without pay. That’s a nice start, but he could be made into a great example.

Thirty-six arrests in 11 years is pitiful. It simply needs to be stopped. Nothing will get the message across to this team like suspending Cook for the rest of the year.

Let’s face it. The Vikings aren't going anywhere this year; these last 11 games are geared towards getting Christian Ponder ready. Vikings fans know that the team’s secondary is very depleted especially with star cornerback Antoine Winfield being hurt, but that shouldn't matter. Suspend him all year.

Cook has been playing very well in place of Winfield, but we don’t know how he would have done against one of the best QBs in the league in Aaron Rodgers and the Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers because he was sitting in the slammer.

I would be suggesting the cutting of Cook, but if Cook was cut and then acquitted the Vikings could possibly face a union grievance. The most you can do without taking legal chances yourself is by suspending him for the rest of the year. When the Vikings cut Bernard Berrian early this week they showed they weren't going to put up with anything, well they need to follow suit with Cook.

The Vikings said in a statement on Tuesday night that the allegations against Cook were “very disturbing and disappointing.”

I’m glad the team’s so nice.