National NFL media ask questions of Chiefs after ex-assistant Britt Reid is charged
Former Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid was charged Monday by Jackson County prosecutors with driving while intoxicated, after a vehicular crash in early February left a 5-year-old girl with a traumatic brain injury.
Reid, the son of Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, could be sentenced to up to seven years in prison if he is convicted.
News of the charges against Reid left some national NFL writers asking for more details from the Chiefs and the NFL. Here is what was being said.
Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports wrote a column with the headline, “Where was Britt Reid drinking before his alleged DWI? The Chiefs and the NFL owe the public an answer.”
This is an excerpt: “If Britt Reid was drinking at the office before plowing into parked cars, the public deserves to know and the franchise should be on the hook — and not just through any civil litigation by the Young family.
“The NFL tries to cloak itself in personal responsibility and community partnership. It needs to investigate and, if needed, punish a favored franchise and the family of a famous coach as aggressively as it does a misbehaving athlete. If Roger Goodell is all about protecting the shield, then how about protecting the public from this stuff?
“There is almost no chance the Chiefs don’t know already what happened that night. There is overwhelming surveillance and security surrounding NFL facilities, both inside and outside the buildings. Due to COVID restrictions, the NFL itself monitored activity inside each building last year.”
USA Today’s Dan Wolken wrote an opinion piece with the headline, “Chiefs must be transparent about Britt Reid as he’s charged with DWI in crash that left a child with brain injuries.”
This is part of what he wrote: “What, exactly, was happening in the Chiefs’ practice facility three days before the Super Bowl?
“It’s not necessarily unusual for coaches who put in long hours to have a drink in the office, but the Chiefs need to lay out publicly exactly who might have known or seen Reid that night and what led up to him getting in that car.
“Were preparations for the big game done that night and everyone was letting loose? Was Reid drinking in his office alone, outside the view of anyone who might have intervened? Who was around at the time, potentially in position to see the state Reid was in and offer a ride or suggest that he call an Uber?”
Torrey Smith, the former NFL wide receiver, spoke out about drinking and driving.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wrote a story with this headline: “Chiefs, NFL still have tough questions to answer in Britt Reid case.”
This is a portion of what he wrote: ”It’s possible the Chiefs knew absolutely nothing. It’s possible Britt Reid didn’t even drink in the facility. It’s possible that, if he did, he did it secretly and discreetly, and that no one knew or had reason to know.
“It’s also possible that the knowledge and involvement swept more broadly than that. Until those questions are publicly answered, they will linger. And they should.
“Someone got in a car at the Chiefs facility, drove it a short distance, and inflicted serious and permanent injuries on a five-year-old girl. The public deserves to know more about how that happened, and the public and the media should demand those answers”.
Matt Verderame of FanSided tweeted this thought:
