Vikings' Bryant McKinnie Pleads Not Guilty; Suspension Looming From NFL?

Vikings left tackle Bryant McKinnie, who was arrested last month and charged with aggravated battery, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, pleaded not guilty today, Sean Jensen of the Star-Tribune reports.

McKinnie is accused of spitting in the face of a bouncer who kicked him out of a club in his hometown of Miami, and then leaving the club only to return, shove his phone in the bouncer's face and then pick up a heavy pole and hit the bouncer with it.

For now we don't know enough to judge the merits of the legal case against him, but it does appear safe to say that McKinnie is going to need to demonstrate that the accusations are totally false if he wants to avoid a suspension. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has made clear that he doesn't have to wait until a player is convicted of a crime before he issues a suspension: An arrest alone is enough to warrant a suspension, especially for players who aren't first-time offenders of the NFL's personal conduct policy.

McKinnie was already once docked a paycheck by the NFL and has been arrested twice in the last three years, once in October 2005 for a disturbance at a Minneapolis gas station, and once when he and some teammates were accused of doing some things they shouldn't have during a boat party. These latest accusations are more serious than those previous incidents, meaning Goodell is very likely to suspend McKinnie for the start of the 2008 season.

(sports.aol.com)