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- Mar 18, 2019
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The Dolphins gave running back Mark Walton a second chance, notwithstanding the fact that he has three pending criminal cases and that, at best, he’ll be No. 3 on the depth chart this season.
Walton’s on-field and off-field worlds will collide this week, with a hearing in one of the prosecutions happening on the same day as the team’s mandatory minicamp.
Via Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald, Walton won’t be missing practice for Wednesday hearing in his arrest on misdemeanor marijuana charges.
“I will be appearing in court for Mr. Walton,” attorney Michael Gottlieb told Beasley. “He’s in constant contact with my offices. He’s an [exceptional] athlete, and I’d like to see him practice and resume his normal life as we litigate these unfortunate cases.”
On Monday, a hearing will happen in a misdemeanor battery case pending against Walton, the first of three offseason arrests that eventually prompted the Bengals to cut the 2018 fourth-round draft pick. In that case, Walton stands accused grabbing a cell phone from a woman during a traffic dispute.
The one case that won’t go to court this week is by far the most troubling of the three. Walton faces
felony charges of carrying a concealed weapon, resisting arrest without violence, marijuana possession, and reckless driving. The incident culminated in high-speed pursuit followed by a footrace that included Walton being tased and then getting up and continuing to run away from police.
Miami’s decision to embrace Walton is every bit as confusing as Oakland’s recent decision to sign Richie Incognito. Usually, only significant football talent earns a second chance. As to both Walton and Incognito, it’s fair to question whether they’re good enough to get the special treatment that usually is reserved for star players.
Like Incognito, Walton surely is facing a suspension from the league office for his trifecta of arrests, regardless of how the incidents are resolved by the courts.