http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/23505609/arizona-cardinals-2nd-rounder-christian-kirk-was-arrested-prior-draft
Cardinals second-round draft pick Christian Kirk was arrested in Scottsdale, Arizona, in February for disorderly conduct and damaging property, according to online court records.
Scottsdale police told azcentral.com that Kirk and some of his friends were allegedly throwing rocks at cars on Feb. 3 as they were leaving the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
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"The suspects were intoxicated and leaving the WMPO. As they were walking through a parking lot, security personnel observed them throwing rocks at cars and breaking a window of at least one of them," the police told the newspaper.
The Cardinals said in a statement that they were aware of the incident before drafting the former Texas A&M wide receiver 47th overall.
"We spoke with Christian about it at length and also looked into it independently. Our understanding is that the process will be resolved in the near future but while it remains an active legal matter, we won't comment further," the team said.
Before, throughout and after this year's draft, Cardinals coach Steve Wilks and general manager Steve Keim consistently discussed their desire to select high-character players -- including Kirk. It was something that Keim sought more this year as he continued to evolve as an evaluator.
When discussing Kirk and another local product whom Arizona spent time with during the pre-draft process, Keim lauded their integrity.
"Those guys are phenomenal kids, great character, and they're really talented football players," Keim said. "I think both of those guys are going to have a tremendous amount of success in our league."
After drafting Kirk, Keim praised him again.
"We certainly followed his career at Texas A&M, and not only is he a great player on the field, but he's certainly a class act off," Keim said. "He fits our DNA that coach has talked about over and over."
Keim also discussed his philosophy on second chances during a post-draft press conference.
"The one thing that we have done that I really like is the checks and balances system," Keim said. "As we have talked about before, we grade a player's personal character and their football character. As 18-19 or 22-year-old young men, we have all made mistakes. I think the one thing is, if you made a mistake, if you are remorseful we can probably live with that. At the same time, if you are in that category, your football character better be the off the charts. You better love it, you better work at it, and you better live in the building. If there is any kind of situation where those two things don't mesh, or one has one or the other, they are not for us. We have to stick to that. That is what I said in the pre-draft presser is, here are these red flags, we can't ignore them anymore."
Kirk talked last week following his first rookie minicamp practice about returning to his home state with his group of friends nearby. He said "they let me be."
"They're there for encouragement," Kirk said. "They're there for me when I need them. They're good. They're never bugging me. They let me go to work and do my business and when it's time for me to go and hang out with them, they're always open-armed."
ESPN's Josh Weinfuss contributed to this report.
Cardinals second-round draft pick Christian Kirk was arrested in Scottsdale, Arizona, in February for disorderly conduct and damaging property, according to online court records.
Scottsdale police told azcentral.com that Kirk and some of his friends were allegedly throwing rocks at cars on Feb. 3 as they were leaving the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
ADVERTISEMENT
"The suspects were intoxicated and leaving the WMPO. As they were walking through a parking lot, security personnel observed them throwing rocks at cars and breaking a window of at least one of them," the police told the newspaper.
The Cardinals said in a statement that they were aware of the incident before drafting the former Texas A&M wide receiver 47th overall.
"We spoke with Christian about it at length and also looked into it independently. Our understanding is that the process will be resolved in the near future but while it remains an active legal matter, we won't comment further," the team said.
Before, throughout and after this year's draft, Cardinals coach Steve Wilks and general manager Steve Keim consistently discussed their desire to select high-character players -- including Kirk. It was something that Keim sought more this year as he continued to evolve as an evaluator.
When discussing Kirk and another local product whom Arizona spent time with during the pre-draft process, Keim lauded their integrity.
"Those guys are phenomenal kids, great character, and they're really talented football players," Keim said. "I think both of those guys are going to have a tremendous amount of success in our league."
After drafting Kirk, Keim praised him again.
"We certainly followed his career at Texas A&M, and not only is he a great player on the field, but he's certainly a class act off," Keim said. "He fits our DNA that coach has talked about over and over."
Keim also discussed his philosophy on second chances during a post-draft press conference.
"The one thing that we have done that I really like is the checks and balances system," Keim said. "As we have talked about before, we grade a player's personal character and their football character. As 18-19 or 22-year-old young men, we have all made mistakes. I think the one thing is, if you made a mistake, if you are remorseful we can probably live with that. At the same time, if you are in that category, your football character better be the off the charts. You better love it, you better work at it, and you better live in the building. If there is any kind of situation where those two things don't mesh, or one has one or the other, they are not for us. We have to stick to that. That is what I said in the pre-draft presser is, here are these red flags, we can't ignore them anymore."
Kirk talked last week following his first rookie minicamp practice about returning to his home state with his group of friends nearby. He said "they let me be."
"They're there for encouragement," Kirk said. "They're there for me when I need them. They're good. They're never bugging me. They let me go to work and do my business and when it's time for me to go and hang out with them, they're always open-armed."
ESPN's Josh Weinfuss contributed to this report.