Another Suspension for Morris

Baltimore Raven running back Bam Morris will sit out the first four games of the regular season plus the remaining exhibition games because of substance abuse. “I’m sorry for my behavior with the team,” Morris said after practice at Western Maryland College in Westminster, Md.. “It was a mistake on my part. I let my teammates down. I let my mom down. I let my wife down. I let everybody down.”

This was the second time Morris violated the league’s substance abuse policy. Last year, he was suspended for four games after pleading guilty to marijuana possession.

The 24-year-old running back tested positive for alcohol during a urine screen in January, an infraction that carries a mandatory four-game suspension since it was his second violation. An appeal was denied.

Morris was arrested in his native Texas in the summer of 1996 when police found six pounds of marijuana in the trunk of his car. On June 27, 1996, he pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana in an agreement that dropped a charge of cocaine possession. He was fined $7,000 and sentenced to 200 hours of community service and six years’ probation.

The Pittsburgh Steelers waived Morris after his first conviction. The Ravens signed him as a free agent on Sept. 22, but Morris was forced to sit out until Oct. 8.

Shortly after being activated, he took over the starting running back job from Earnest Byner and gained a team-leading 737 yards with four touchdowns the final seven games.