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Ravens Fans React After String Of Arrests Puts Team In Bad Light

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- It's been a rough offseason for the Baltimore Ravens. A string of arrests puts players in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. The latest being another TMZ video.

Monique Griego has more on how fans feel about the team being in the tabloids.

At WJZ-FM 105.7 The Fan, phone lines lit up with talk about more Ravens behaving badly.

"I just think all of us should stop expecting these athletes that get rewarded for their aggressive behavior on the field to abruptly change when they're back in society," one caller said.

TMZ video is the latest incident to ignite the airwaves. In it, players Jacoby Jones, Bernard Pearce and Jimmy Smith allegedly get kicked out of an Ocean City bar for being too drunk.

"At least they were cooperative. They weren't obnoxious. The thing you don't like is you got Jacoby and you got two young guys. You don't want the young guys starting those traits," said Vinny Cerrato, 105.7 The Fan.

But according to WJZ's media partner, The Baltimore Sun, the general manager of Seacrets--the Ocean City bar where the incident occurred--says the players didn't do anything wrong.

Just last Friday, running back Ray Rice apologized after police say he knocked his wife unconscious. The aftermath was shown in another TMZ Sports video.

Rice was just one of four players arrested in the last five months. These off-field antics concern Coach John Harbaugh.

"So you can't go home and run around with your pals and think you're in the same place that they're in. It's a privilege to have a job like this. It's a privilege to be in the National Football League. Yes, you've earned it, but you're going to have to earn staying in this league."

So, what do fans want to say to the players? In Friday's WJZ Sound Off, opinions were mixed.

"These guys, I couldn't care less what they do in their spare time," said Ravens fan Barry Robinson.

"People do look up to them and children do look up to them," said Kimberly Littman.

"You should clean up your act because there are a lot of kids that want to grow up and be football players just like you guys," said Damien Borck, Ravens fan.

What most fans really cared about was how the team plays on the field. They say if the season rolls around and the team starts winning, a lot of this would be forgiven and maybe forgotten.

Ray Rice is expected to be punished by the NFL for violation of the league's personal conduct policy.

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