Titus Young’s Antics Continue to Shine a Negative Light on Detroit Lions

Nov 11, 2012; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Detroit Lions wide receiver Titus Young (16) celebrates his touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings in the fourth quarter at the Metrodome. The Vikings win 34-24. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

The Titus Young saga took another interesting turn this week when it was reported that the former Detroit Lion wide receiver had been arrested twice on Sunday.

Most have likely heard of Young’s foibles when he was arrested under suspicion of DUI and, just 14 hours later, was arrested again for trying to “jail break” his impounded Mustang. On a more comical note, Deadspin posted a story about a suburban Detroit AT&T store getting frequent visits from Titus, wanting entry after hours while saying “don’t you know who I am,” demanding freebies, and taking a nap in the store while snoring loudly. Follow the jump here for a precious picture of l’il Titus’ nap time.

While we could go on and on about what is wrong with Titus, and that we are fearful for his well-being, let’s save that for Dr. Phil. Since this is a Lions’ fan site, let’s discuss the anger fans should have that he was drafted in the first place.

Despite having talent, it was well known that Boise State’s Young had a knack for finding trouble. He had been removed from the Broncos during his sophomore year following a fight with a teammate (prophetic of a future run-in with Louis Delmas). Young pouted for not getting the ball last year and was benched and released. Whether he has been employed as a football player or unemployed, Young just appears to be an awful person.

Martin Mayhew makes no bones about his draft strategy. He takes the best player available and that’s how they end up with players like Young. Taking the best player available means you might draft a guy with issues and hope he suddenly becomes an upstanding member of society.

The Lions’ brass had to have known of Young’s past and talked with him, whether at the combine, or a one-on-one meeting. With the amount of time and money spent screening draft candidates, are you telling us that they couldn’t pick up on what a knucklehead this guy is?  In regular guy terms, everyone knows a jerk. He may be in your circle of friends, a family member, or co-worker. Often times you know a jerk from the moment you meet. Titus has shown that his demons are so massive that they have been a part of him well before he arrived in Detroit.

Super Bowl-caliber teams rarely waste second round picks as the Lions did in 2011. The team is now paying the price on the field and off. Each time Titus does something incredibly stupid, he will forever be linked to the Lions, the team that thought this headcase could be an NFL player.