Scope of Sam Hurd’s activities threatens Bears, NFL

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FILE - In this Oct. 16, 2011, file photo, Chicago Bears wide receiver Sam Hurd (81) rushed between Minnesota Vikings defenders during the second half of an NFL football game in Chicago. Hurd was in jail Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011, after authorities accused him of trying to set up a drug distribution network in the Chicago area and arrested him after he allegedly agreed to buy a kilogram of cocaine from an undercover agent. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)

Updated: January 19, 2012 10:50AM

What if?

It’s the most frightening question in the world these days for the people running the Bears and the NFL.

What if Sam Hurd had been supplying his Bears teammates with cocaine and marijuana? What if the five to 10 kilograms of coke and the 1,000 pounds of weed he allegedly wanted to purchase per week were also for his former Cowboys teammates and for pro players who make Dallas and Chicago their offseason homes?

What if Hurd was the Unofficial Drug Dealer of the NFL?

Then, friends, the Bears have a problem that will make Tank Johnson’s past criminal troubles look like a 911 call for a cat stuck in a tree.

It doesn’t take much of an imagination to get to a very uncomfortable place with Hurd and the Bears. They waived the receiver Friday, two days after his arrest on federal drug conspiracy charges. According to the criminal complaint against him, Hurd told an undercover agent that he and a partner already were selling about four kilograms of cocaine a week but needed more. The amount of cocaine and pot he wanted to buy weekly was worth about $700,000.

If the charges are true, Hurd was a big drug dealer who wanted to be a bigger one.

You don’t have to be filthy rich to have a cocaine habit, but it helps. Who has a lot of disposable income at his fingertips? Your typical NFL player, for one.

NFL isn’t Sunday school

Now, you might dismiss all of this as the raving of a conspiracy theorist, but if you pay any attention to the daily sports page, you know that NFL players have had their share of criminal issues in the way that Wilt Chamberlain had his share of girlfriends.

Perhaps Hurd saw an opportunity to hang a shingle that indicated he was the one-stop shopping source for players’ pharmaceutical needs. And perhaps he embraced the Chicago spirit completely and made no little plans.

Hurd’s attorney denied a WSCR-AM report that police have a list of players Hurd supplied with drugs.

No one in the Bears locker room knew about his side career? I don’t buy that. They might not talk much with the media, but Bears players talk to each other. Given the anecdotal evidence that marijuana use is prevalent in pro sports, it’s not a stretch to believe the Bears have some players who partake. And if there’s a guy on the team who’s a dealer, how convenient would those transactions be?

Doesn’t it just figure that the Bears would have a Tony Montana on their roster instead of a Joe Montana?

In July, Dallas County police pulled over an associate of Hurd’s who was driving Hurd’s car. Inside the vehicle was $88,000 in cash and a bag that tested positive for traces of marijuana. The next day, the Bears signed the receiver to a three-year, $5.1 million contract.

There is very little in-between when it comes to the Bears’ handling of this: Either they didn’t do their due diligence on Hurd or they shrugged off the red flags.

Lovie in over his head

Somewhere along the way, the Bears made the unfortunate decision that coach Lovie Smith would be the mouthpiece for the organization. It happened because no one, from the McCaskeys to president Ted Phillips to general manager Jerry Angelo, wants to be bothered talking with the media. Fine, but then Thursday’s news arrives and you have the pan-faced Smith looking as lost as a 5-year-old in a mall. He did say that Hurd is “still a member of the Bears.’’ Great. That’s the message you want to send.

On Friday, the Bears did the right thing, the obvious thing, and waived Hurd. Angelo finally came out of his bunker and talked with reporters. Eventually, the team will decide the bad guy in all of this is the media. Count on it.

The Bears seem more worried that the Hurd situation will be a distraction Sunday when they take on the Seattle Seahawks at Soldier Field. If there are players who did buy drugs from Hurd, then I’d say the Bears have bigger worries than a football game in a lost season.

Same goes for the NFL, which is fighting an uphill battle against the perception that it is a league of thugs. If it turns out that Hurd is guilty of drug dealing and that many of his clients were NFL players, the league would have a full-blown scandal on its hands.

There must be some very frightened people wondering what Hurd will tell federal authorities. If not, there should be.