The Cincinnati Bengals finished a paltry 8-8 last season, in party due to the arrests of nine team members. Although Coach Marvin Lewis defends his coaching style and claims to have revamped his hard-lined disciplinary approach, the Bengals undoubtedly suffered from their athlete's run-ins with the law. The most recent mishap occurred when cornerback Johnathan Joseph was arrested for marijuana possession. If Joseph's arrest was an isolated incident, it may not have impacted the team. However, a string of arrests in only one season tainted the reputation of the Cincinnati NFL franchise and undoubtedly also hurt the image of professional football as a whole. The Bengals' problems also reveal universal human relations issues. Lessons learned from Cincinnati and the NFL can be applied easily to any organization. The main lessons evident in the Bengals crisis include leadership; teamwork; discipline; and restructuring.
             The National Football League is unavoidably hierarchical. Although rookie players command large salaries, they are expected to play by the rules and follow orders of their superiors. Their primary superior is the coach of the team. Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis is reputed to have become lackadaisical in his approach over the past several years. While his approach might have earned his a friendly reputation in the locker room, Lewis' leniency might also have hurt the team. Like a liberal parent afraid to discipline the children, a lax coach hinders the maturation of the team and its individual players. A solid leader retains his or her position through the effective management of a team. Effective management in turn depends on qualities like assertiveness and ascription to rules and boundaries. In the case with the Bengals, Lewis lost touch with the idea of leadership.
             Similarly, sports writers note that the players involved in the recent scandals acted selfishly ("Lewis Brings Down Iron Fist"...