Anthony Bright apparently takes back his "I forgave him" from Smith.

Several things seem apparent to me -

Bright was counseled wisely to wait until Smith got a big extension. It must have been weird for him to partially be pulling for the Panthers and Smith to play well enough to garner a big contract, just to be able to collect a portion of it down the road.

Smith should be counseled by his lawyer(s) (just as wisely) to settle ooc as soon as possible . . . hopefully even before preseason. This matter could obviously be a very distracting situation for our whole team.

Bright has a high powered legal connection and they will not allow for their client to be seen as "just a practice squad guy". All of the sudden Anthony Bright would have some "promising young NFL future starter" light shinning on him. This is not likely to be cheap for Smitty and the sooner it is settled the less momentum Cochran and Crabtree can generate and the less it is going to cost him.

This has been hanging over him for years and needs to be resolved. Smitty will be able to put it behind him once and for all, but the price tag is going to hurt. A million dollar + settlement could actually be a blessing in disguise. The more it hurts his wallet the less likely he is to let that temper out of the can in the future.

 

Bright looked good in the preseason that year but for some reason we never used him much. I remember one big drop he had when he did get in. I agree that Smith should pay him and that he waited until now so as to cash in on Smith getting a big contract.

I can not see how any injury he sustained in that fight made him unable to play. If it can be proven that it did though he has some basis for lost wages. He might not have been a world beater but if he was hurt enough to dimish his ability it would account for his washing out in Atlanta and Houston.

 

No way in hell he has to pay a million dollars. If this were anyone else the judge would send him to anger management (done that) and a fine of some sort as this is his forst offence (I think) Bright has no case for a large settlement. I'd be shocked if it is anything close to 100k MAX

 

This is bogus!!!

I'm not saying that what Smith did to him was okay, but it didn't end his career. What thwarted Anthony Bright's career was him not having enough talent.

 

just saw this thread -- that was my first thought.

 

seems he was cut because his performance was not what it was before the incident. As the lawyer said he has to sign a waiver because of a pre-existing condition, that is a stigma that he didn't have to overcome before the incident.

 

If his vision was affected it could hurt his ability to play receiver. Smith needs to pay for some of the crap he has done. Maybe that will help him mature. I know he played great for us the second half of last season but his temper was still a problem. It was only last year he kicked that guy in Houston and probably cost us the game with a penalty for it.

 

He was on the practice squad. Not the official roster.

 

He got into at least one game, and dropped a pass (a long one he that would have been difficult), so he must have been on the real roster for a little while.

 

He was WAY before the incident. He was cut and then resigned to the practice squad... then after all that is when the fight/ass whoopin whatever you wanna call it occurred