Marvin Lewis, coach of the Bengals was on the 4-Letter Sports Network, and made an honest mistake...of being honest.

When asked if the Bengals were profiled by the Cincinnati police, Lewis had the temerity to point out - politely - that getting written up and publicized for not turning on your blinker is a bit extreme.

Whoops.

Of course, human nature is such that once you have a reputation for trouble, such as the Bengals do, you are going to have walk a straighter line. Everything, no matter how minor, gets magnified. Lewis basically said as much. Of course, in the minor furor afterwards, this was ignored.

The unspoken undercurrent here is the low reputation that the Queen City Police Department has in the local black community. Since 1995, the police have shot 22 black men, 13 of them fatally. While some of those incidents were justified, others were - to put it nicely - questionable. Any talk of racial profiling has to take that into account

The Bengals have justly been ripped for their indiscretions in the past, and should be held to a high standard, both by their management, fans, and the NFL. None of that ever justifies profiling based on status, race, or profession.

Lewis offered a clarification/apology the next day. As someone who has been on the wrong end of a racial profile (not in Ohio), I’m sorry he did so. Too often, speaking truth is usually followed by a backpedal worthy of Champ Bailey.

Kudos to Marvin for making the attempt. I just wish he had stuck to his convictions.