Brandon Underwood: No More Second Chances

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Brandon Underwood is once again in trouble with the law after an alleged altercation with his wife, Brandie.

If you haven’t heard by now, Green Bay Packers cornerback Brandon Underwood is once again in trouble with Lady Justice. WLUK Fox 11 News in Northeast Wisconsin cracked the story yesterday of Underwood’s alleged altercation with his wife, Brandie, on June 16th, the night he and his teammates received their Super Bowl XLV Championship Rings.

According to Mrs. Underwood’s story, the two were having an argument that evening on their way home from the ring ceremony. Brandon Underwood allegedly became incensed over her wearing the Super Bowl necklace given to her by the Packers organization, then ripped it off her neck while still in their car.

Underwood was then said to have gotten out of the car, walked around to the passenger side door, and dragged Brandie from the vehicle before driving away. She immediately phoned the police, and Underwood was arrested upon his return.

The couple is reportedly going through a divorce.

This incident comes not long after Underwood was the center of attention in an alleged sexual assault case involving two women at a Wisconsin Dells hotel last year. Though nothing came of the women’s claims about the sex being forced on them, Underwood did enter a no-contest plea to one count of prostitution non-marital sexual intercourse last March.

He was fined $379.00 by a Sauk County judge.

Perhaps it is a fitting retribution, then, that the personification of the law is a woman, since Brandon Underwood finds it hard to stay out of trouble when around the opposite sex.

Though fans didn’t wholly condemn him for his previous entanglement with the law, it left Underwood on a short rope for many people. Some saw him as a victim of his celebrity status, while others – after hearing about his married status and two children – were disgusted with his infidelity. Despite his foolish behavior, there still wasn’t a lot of ado regarding his position with the team.

Yes, Underwood had to apologize for his actions in front of his teammates, and yes, it made McCarthy look a little bit foolish for some of his earlier compliments, but other than that, adultery wasn’t much to get too hung up about in the grand scheme of things.

This didn’t even come close to the embarrassment of a Johnny Jolly, Ben Roethlisberger, or Michael Vick.

Fast forward to the present, though, and suddenly fans couldn’t care less about Brandon Underwood.

Not only have the “foolish” and “adulterer” labels remained, Underwood now gets to add “spouse abuser” to the list. There is absolutely no excuse for what he did. I get that tempers can flare between two people in the middle of a divorce. My parents split up when I was in junior high school, and it took them over a decade to even start reconciling.

But I’d be willing to bet Mr. Underwood’s infidelity last summer had something to do with their divorce to begin with. So he probably should have just kept his mouth shut and his hands to himself.

To top it all off, this act of stupidity happened on one of the most cherished nights of the year. The Green Bay Packers, after months of being locked out of their facilities, finally got to reunite for a celebration of their ultimate victory – winning Super Bowl XLV. Their time to enjoy the fruits of their labors had arrived, and they could finally close out the final chapter of their 2010 season.

And what does Brandon Underwood do? He gives the night a big middle finger by going off the handle at his wife.

No, this wasn’t just a case of him abusing women – though that is the worst of it – this is also a case of him tarnishing the Green Bay Packers organization. It was, after all, their decision to pay for and give Brandie Underwood a necklace commemorating the Super Bowl championship. Pending divorce or not, she was a part of the Packers family, and for Underwood to claim authority over that decision was a slap in the face to his team.

You see, Brandon, families and teams are about more than just the individuals that comprise them. To bring up the tired but true cliché, the whole is more than the sum of its parts.

For your sake, for Brandie’s sake, and for the sake of your children, I hope you learn that lesson soon.

Regardless of what happens, you should know you are quickly writing your way out of Green Bay. Just as poor decisions cost you a marriage and a family, they are costing you a job. Because it’s not just your off-the-field antics that are screwing up your chances, it is the fact that you have done squat as a cornerback or even as a special teams player.

You had ample opportunities to have it all, and you blew it.

And if you haven’t figured it out by now, you only get one second chance before you’re marked for life. With guys like Davon House looking for their first chance, and other guys like Pat Lee and Josh Gordy trying to break into starter roles, you’re not going to have much luck making it back next year.

It’s funny . . . I’ve read a lot lately about how guys like Randall Cobb and D.J. Williams rise above the rest to do some good in this world, and they haven’t even received their first NFL paycheck yet! They make time for the people in their lives and in their communities, because they get it. They understand what it means to be a professional athlete and a decent human being.

Yet here we have you, Brandon Underwood, third-string cornerback, squandering it all away. And at this point, I really don’t think you have much left to squander.

So I doubt I’m alone when I say, in the immortal words of Cee Lo Green: “[Forget] you.”

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Chad Toporski, a Wisconsin native and current Pittsburgh resident, is a writer for AllGreenBayPackers.com. You can follow Chad on twitter at @ChadToporski

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15 thoughts on “Brandon Underwood: No More Second Chances

  1. In the Super Bowl when Woodson and Shields were injured, it was Bush and Lee that filled in rather than Underwood.

    1. Proof that Underwood is pretty far down on the totem pole. Can’t get much lower without falling off it completely.

  2. NFL fans are willing to overlook many things if you produce on the field. Underwood has not produced anything on the field, largely because he has been just as immature in his preperation as he has been in his personal life. From a shear talent stand point he is likely more talented than lee and bush. His time is done in Green Bay. If he was Tramon Williams I would think he is an idiot, but would still expect him to be on the team. Sorry Brandon, you are finished as a Packer. I would wish you the best of luck with another team, but I would not mean it. You drug guys like CM3 through the mud before, that should have been enough to get you cut already.

  3. This has echoes of Ahman Green who had several instances where the police were called. I wonder if this pattern of behavior was related to Underwood’s transfer from Ohio State to Cincinnati?

  4. Some people are just assholes.

    I do know a guy whose girlfriend is the closest to a b*tch as there is. She completely abuses him, gets with other guys in front of him just to piss him off, and when he confronts her, she acts like the victim and starts making a fuss. Yet they’re together. So I’m not completely discarding that it’s just a really, really effed up relationship.

    That being said, it’s just too much of a headache to deal with. He’s not worth it.

    And, once again, TT is 10 moves ahead of everyone else. We already have his replacement on roster with Davon House.

    Damn that man is brilliant. You guys remember back to the future, where the vilain finds the magazine in the trash can and knows all the sports results from 50 years?

    TT is like that.

    1. You are making a mistake comparing Brandie to the person you are speaking about. Brandon has a long history of cheating on his wife. And he grew up watching his abusive father. Brandie has never cheated or attempted to make Brandon jealous. She has loved him since she met him in college when she was 18. She is a full time mom with 3 boys ages 3,2,10 months. I think she deserves some respect.

      1. I don’t think he was making a comparison, just giving an example of one half of a couple that puts up with a lot. And that person would be Brandie, in the Underwoods’ case. RS, did I get that right?

        1. Nono, actually, both of you kind of got ir wrong. What I’m saying is, I’m not discarding that he’s not a real asshole, and it’s just the relationship that is messed up. That’s the case with my friend. Of course, he doesn’t cheat on her (he’s actually kind of obsessed with her…).

          But again, that’s not the point. The point is, there’s a possibility that Underwood wasn’t on the wrong, slim as it may be, but even so he should be cut by the Packers, just for letting this get this far.

          1. While I agree that the possibility is there, I am giving Brandie the benefit of the doubt after what he did last summer.

        2. But if you, Aunt Stacie, actually knows what happened, and that he is indeed abusive and she’s taking it back for fear of him, then it’s another story, but I don’t know exactly, so I can’t crucify him pronto.

          1. he cheated on his wife with two prostitutes, when he had 3 kids at home. if i am a betting man i am going to guess that brandon is actually the asshole and should get the blame for putting his hands on his ex-wife in any way in anger. seriously, two prostitutes when you have 3 kids…what a douche.

            1. Don’t get me wrong, I’m doing the same. But that’s still guesswork. That’s what I’m saying.

  5. Spouse Abuser?

    Sounds an awful lot like that ex-packer everyone hates.. What was his name? Ahman Green?

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