Yesterday Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune teased that they would be releasing a story on Friday on Antonio Cromartie’s “legal/financial troubles” and at 12:02AM West Coast, the paper did just that. Brent Schrotenboer wrote this report on his traffic related fines and back child support.
Cornerback Antonio Cromartie – traded by the Chargers last night to the Jets – failed to appear in court twice for different traffic tickets and hasn’t paid $799 in traffic-related fines, causing the Department of Motor Vehicles to withhold his driver’s license application.
It’s one of the latest in a string of traffic and financial problems for Cromartie, 25, whose future with the team is in doubt.
Cromartie was traded to the New York Jets Thursday evening after four seasons with the Chargers.
He is scheduled to appear in San Diego Superior Court later this month for a judgment debtor’s exam related to child support he owes one of the mothers of his children.
Last month, the Union-Tribune reported Cromartie was past due on about $25,000 in child support, according to court records and a local attorney.
Cromartie has at least seven children with six different women in five states. All children are under 6.
Records show Cromartie owes $499 for a red-light violation and $300 for failure to appear in court on the charge. He was convicted of the violation on Dec. 10. He also failed to appear in court after getting a ticket for driving while talking on his cell phone, according to the DMV. He was convicted of that in March 2009. It’s unclear what he owes for the latter offenses. Additionally, in April 2008, he was convicted of failure to obey a traffic sign.
Cromartie signed a five-year contract in 2006 with $7.35 million guaranteed.
Cromartie applied for a California driver’s license in 2006 but didn’t properly complete the application, so he was never issued a license, according to the DMV. Because of his unpaid fines, he’s not eligible for a license even if he does complete his application.
It doesn’t seem much of a coincidence that this story comes out today, as opposed to yesterday. I don’t know that it would have made a lick of difference in terms of what the Jets ended up paying for Cromartie, but it couldn’t have helped.
It’s not the worst thing in the world, but it’s the kind of stuff that could put him in larger trouble with the law down the road. Last night someone on Twitter asked me
“why do people care about [Cromartie's] “issues”. I dont care if he can read or how many kids he has. He has great upside and makes team better.”
I care because Cromartie has made off the field stuff relevant to his production on the field. Whether he has 100 kids or he has none, that’s his prerogative. I don’t care. If he wants to pay a string of women child support, that’s his deal.
I’m not saying that Cromartie needs to be helping old ladies across the street, or whatever, but as any good libertarian would say, I care when it starts to affect me. Meaning if his focus on the field affects what the Jets can do on defense, then I’m going to care a lot.
Cromartie admitted that the child support issue got to him two years ago, and his production suffered for it. His words from this past July:
But sitting down between workouts last week, Cromartie acknowledged a less-than-focused drift through the 2008 season.
“Last year my head wasn’t in there,” Cromartie said. “I was dealing with my kids and their moms. It had my mind somewhere else.”
If you can’t take care of business away from the field, and it leaks onto the field then that’s a concern to me.
His athletic skills are par excellence, but Dave Szott is going to have his work cut out for him helping this guy away from the field … but that’s what the Jets pays Dave Szott for in the first place, to mitigate that issue.
Like Braylon, Cromartie has all the tools at his disposal to be a world-class player, it’s just up to him to put it together, on and off the field.
The Braylon Edwards little bar scuffle and Antonio Cromartie’s traffic tickets are petty issues that nobody should ever give a crap about. This is stuff that reporters use to laugh about with athlete’s and never make the press “back in the day”. Now it becomes a “smear” campaign. Whoa! Better not sign him because he didn’t pay a ticket. What nonsense.
These stories on Edwards and Cromartie are not like some guys that are out their beating the crap out of women, drinkin’, druggin’ and gunnin’ or getting other guys in their crew killed. This is less than a grand in traffic tickets. Give me a freakin’ break!
The fact that we have two guys (17 & 31) who’s real problem stems from being such elite athletes their entire live that everyone has spoiled them rotten, just need to become men. By being around real men should help. They just have to learn how to stop being whiners and pouting…shut up and put up….to me, that’s a risk worth taking.
Classic line from Serby in today’s NY Post..
“So what Ryan has on his hands now, opposite Revis Island, is Temptation Island”.
Classic! Just classic!
My thoughts on the Antonio Cromartie trade:
- He’s an upgrade, for sure. I wasn’t crazy about the idea of going after him, but the price is a bargain. You typically upgrade a pick by one round if it’s in the following year’s draft, so this is equivalent to giving up a current year fourth rounder. And next year’s draft is weaker, so a current year fourth rounder is more valuable. AND it should (all being well) be a late pick.
- Mind you, I don’t know what the conditions are for it to graduate to a second rounder, but if it involves him getting to the Pro Bowl, we might as well strike a line through our 2011 2nd rounder now. So many people pulled out of this year’s pro bowl that it was really easy to get there.
- Does this mean I have to root for “A. C. Green”? (That would be an ironic nickname, given the real AC Green’s virginal reputation).
- Yes, he sometimes shies away from contact, but is that really going to make all that much defense to the Jets run defense? It’s not like the other team can run at him every time like teams used to do to neutralize Dwight Freeney. Was Deion Sanders a good tackler? I’m NOT comparing him to Neon Deion, just saying you can still be a decent corner (on a successful team) if you can’t tackle.
- He’s good in man coverage, but sometimes gets beaten deep and is poor in zone? That makes me think they need Rhodes to stay – or if they do replace him, the replacement must be good in coverage with range and size. There aren’t too many available safeties that fit that description.
- One of the apparent downsides to getting him is that his contract expires at the end of the season. However, with next year likely to be a lockout, that may be no worse than getting a guy whose contract expires at the end of next season.
- I saw one quote that said Revis and Cromartie are the best cornerback duo in the NFL. Well, duh…Revis and Justin Miller would be the best cornerback duo in the NFL.
- Although a lot of Chargers fans wanted to get rid of him, his performance was a lot more consistent in 2009. In 2008, he was awful (although the hip injury and baby issues noted above were a factor). His 2007 performance, though he had a bunch of picks and went to the Pro Bowl, was good, but not great.
Bent i’m totally with u here, not happy about his off field issues(7 kids with 6 diffrent women in 5 states, [Editor: redacted]
But getting him for an 2011 3rd rounder is brill, add to the fact this guy is going to need money, so he has every incentive to perform at a high level for the Jets
Now go and get a pass rusher in the draft !!
He can have another 11 kids and 20 traffic violations…..Just lock down opposite Revis.
Once again Mr T is a genius….. Ball Hawking All Pro CB for a 3rd in 2 years. Hilarious
Gotta love this move for so many reasons. Cant wait to see Rex coach him up and hopefully he’ll take a look to see what is making Revis island so successful and try to work some of those elements into his game. He’s so young with so much upside that its exciting. He has a lot to prove and was even saying all last year that he wants to be on a more aggressive defense and be more physical. Well heres his shot. People make mistakes and grow up all the time. He’s 25….just a kid…and still has plenty of time to prove that he will mature. New team and enviroment will do him a lot of good. He’s goin to a team with a players coach from a team that just doesnt seem to have the best player discipline from top to bottom. Seems like theres a bunch of guys oit there in San Diego with big attitudes and ego’s like Rivers and Merriman. Really dont think Norv Turner has controll of his locker room and thats how young guys get out of hand. Great move for us….lets see if this guy can put it together as a J-E-T!!!!!!
I have the Jets secondary new nickname…” NO FLY ZONE”… Let’s go Jets! Tannebaum is amazing!!!!
I hate to speak for Harlan but someone in the Jets FO deserves a kewpie…..lol
now we can focus on stopping the run
david i:
To gloss over the fact that Cromartie has FATHERED SEVEN children with six different women in the last SIX years, and has total disregard for traffic laws AND our safety is not only irresposible on your part, but border line immoral.
I mean, no doubt it greatly improves the teams PLAY, back to gloss his dysfunction as ….” This is stuff that reporters use to laugh about with athlete’s and never make the press “back in the day”…..is not only illegal but immoral.
I don’t know what “back in the day” you are talking about, BUT I’ve been reading/folowing sports about 50 years and I’ve never seen any athlete with the audacity to not care that this guy acts out!!!
The money this kid owes is chump change relative to what he earns. He needs to settle up, spend the three hours it will take to address his legal issues, and then make a conscious choice to start making better decisions. It’s not an easy thing to do, but I think we have the right type of support throughout the organization to make that happen.
For a third round pick, it’s an AWESOME move.
hank/naples:
Leave “morality” out of this. What is immoral behavior to you is not necessarily so to someones else. We can have a discussion about responsibility to one’s self and one’s family without a concept as amorphous as morality.
hank/naples:
I didn’t address his fathering seven kids with however many woman in however many states, because that is his personal business. If he was a Mormon and married 8 woman, who am I to judge in either case as immoral. Since none of these women filed rape charges, they obviously had consensual sex…last time I checked, consensual sex was not illegal nor immoral…
hank
Not to worry… I heard we are fitting Cromartie for a #31 jersey and a body condom.
There are worse guys in the league and probably some on our own team that we dont know about.
He improves our team and we got him at a bargain price. Thats really all that matters
Hank,
Are you serious? Yes, in the 50′s, 60′s, 70′s and even the 80′s reporters and athletes had an unspoken agreement about how the press goes about reporting a player’s personal life. Need an example? How about 1986 New York Metropolitans.
They were boozing, drug using, womanizing, brawling animals. The press didn’t publish every player’s dirty laundry. They let them play. So David isn’t off on his assertion that “This is stuff that reporters use to laugh about with athlete’s and never make the press “back in the day””.
Sounds to me like he needs to grow up a bit. Those kind of petty traffic violations only get worse if you don’t show up, or just pay the fine. I was the same way for a long time. What all these off the field issues do show me, is that he hasn’t come to a place where he accepts responsibility for his actions.
I really hope the jets can somehow resign TJ. I think they made a big mistake and underestimated his value, and how much of a bargain they got last year.
Ehhh, the San Diego wrtiers a re still sur about losing to the Jets in the playoffs.
He is a punk, on the field and off.
david i:
“…….last time I checked, consensual sex was not illegal nor immoral”
Not to be a prude but immoral does not always constitute illegal.
I mean, not long ago some guy uttered with a straight face these famous words…. ” I never had sex with that woman” and he also did not serve a single day in jail
Brendan:
If you had ever called them The ‘ Metropolitans’ in my era, arround my friends, they would have laughed you right out of the neighbohood!!!
And, the fact that you say…..They were boozing, drug using, womanizing, brawling animals. “……you have to be talking about Bachelors III and B/Way Joe, because you can’t be talking about the …Metropolitans, right?
And even then, it was all about clubs, women and booze, NOT breaking the law and see who could father the MOST illegitimate children.
C’mon Brendan, I’m no prude but you’re dead wrong here!!!!
…”
Hope for the best that this is not “Revis Island” and “Fantasy Island”, but I’ll give the guy the benefit of the doubt and hope the Jets truly believe they can help him get his life in order.
Sounds like they just need to set him up with the right accountant/business manager and a mentor , which TJ would be great at, but……
Hank..
Wtf? Metropolitans, Mets, Amazins, Muts. Whatever you want to call them, in 1986 they were the last real “EFF YOU” team…really ever.
I suggest you pick up a copy of “The Bad Guys Won! A Season of Brawling, Boozing, Bimbo-chasing, and Championship Baseball with Straw, Doc, Mookie, Nails, The Kid, and the Rest of the 1986 Mets, the Rowdiest Team Ever to Put on a New York Uniform–and Maybe the Best”. For you to say it was not about breaking the law shows you know nothign about what you’re talking about. Because coke binges, fighting (in games, in bars, in planes, wherever), adultery and GETTING ARRESTED aren’t illegal or immoral. Please, Hank, I love the Mets as much as I love the Jets, don’t tell me I’m dead wrong about this.
The Mets suck….
Just wanted to say that.
Brendan:
You make it sound like coke and other drugs were rampant on that team. You did not have to read books to know that Doc and Straw were coke heads. Everyone knew that. But there is no way you or anyone else can tell me that it was widely used by the Kid and the team.
And if you can show me in the book who used coke ,other than those two I mentioned, I will go out, buy a copy, and apologize to you. No way Carter nor the Mex did it!!!
As far as brawling, every team was doing it, even the Yankees, in the dugout, on TV, infront of millions. A team fighting among themselves, was not news then, never has!!!
NO WAY MEX DID IT!?!?!?!? You, my friend, just lost complete credibility.
Who, since Doc & Straw were babies on that team, exactly brought the world of nose candy to these two young should’ve-been Hall of Famers?
Call me crazy, but I’d say Mex, since he was brought into Federal Court to be questioned about the rampant coke use in MLB and his individual usage & involvement.
So, here’s the link:
http://www.amazon.com/Brawling-Bimbo-chasing-Championship-Baseball-Uniform/dp/0060507322
Go out and pick up a copy. Not only is it incredibly entertaining & interesting it will show you that in the book they cover the topic of cocaine usage, and highlight multiple veterans who did the drugs. In fact, in the opening pages of the book, they have a story of how the Mets destroyed their plane after winning the NLCS, and how one reporter walked into the bathroom with Mex, Doc & Straw (Doc might not have been there) and a bunch of lines cut up.
Not brawling with themselves. With other teams, and fans. This team wasn’t just a bunch of athletes wrestling around the infield. They had serious madmen, guys who laid waste to opposing players in fights. Ray Knight? He cold-cocked more than a few guys. Kevin Mitchell? Dude went straight outta Compton and break a guys face in a fight once. But what I was really referring to was how four Mets players were arrested and charged with multiple crimes for a bar fight in Houston.
Again, don’t tell me I’m wrong when you haven’t read the book and clearly are not a Mets fan.
Hank,
I’ve read that book as well. They were brawling not with themselves, but with other teams and other fans. 4 of them were arrested in Houston after a bar-fight with locals. They also had 3 or 4 bench-clearing brawls. Although, Mex did punch out Strawberry on team-picture day, but that was a random event.
As far as drugs. The entire team was on amphetamines. Many teams were, but the Mets did that more-so than others. Thats actually nothing to be ashamed of though. That stuff does help you play sports.
Mex had a documented coke-problem when he was with St. Louis. As far as I know, he was clean by the time he was with the 1986 team. The book documents teammates using it on board the plane ride after winning the NL pennant, but other than Doc and Straw, I don’t remember if they single anyone out.
The team partied. And they partied hard. It is very reasonable to assume more than those two players were enjoying themselves with other drugs.
And I cant tell if you’re a mets fan or not, I’m assuming you are an Indians fan based off your love of everything Cleveland, but that book is a great read. A lot of insight into that season, baseball and off-field related.
Starz:
Straw, Doc are /.were well known coke heads. You are going to have to show me where Mex, the Kid, Nails or Backman or Mook and the rest are documented using hard drugs. Untill then, forget it.
As far as greenies are concerned, they were the accepted way of killing pain/getting up for the games and prevelant throughout the League, not only the Mets!!!
As far as fighting goes, nobody fought more that The Oakland A’s or the NY Yankees (esp the OLD Yanks)
Starz31:
And one last thing. In case you really are wondering if I’m a “Metropolitan’s” fan , just want to to say that I saw Ryan Pitch to Hammering Hank @ Shea stadium in the Playoffs and Saw Gil show the BB with shoe polish to the Plate Ump,and Cleon make the Last catch all at Shea AND ON my own TV!! I saw it instantly, TWICE!!!
I think that will tell you if I’m a Mets fan!!!!