Odell Willis’ DUI arrest will give his critics plenty of new ammunition

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers' trade of star defensive end Odell Willis to the Saskatchewan Roughriders earlier this offseason was one of the most divisive moves in CFL history, and that argument over Willis' value looks likely to flare up again thanks to his arrest Monday morning in Atlanta on a count of driving under the influence. If you judge Willis based on his talent alone, as this corner prefers to do, that trade was a massive victory for the Roughriders, who gave away just two marginal draft picks (in the second and fourth round, with a conditional 2013 pick involved as well, but they got a fifth-round pick back) to land a premium player (Willis tied for the CFL lead with 13 sacks in 2011 and was a key part of Winnipeg's worst-to-first turnaround). There are many who care more about such intangible factors as leadership and chemistry, though, and they were solidly against the Roughriders trading for Willis. An arrest like this on a serious charge will give them plenty of opportunity for further criticism long before Willis plays a down for Saskatchewan.

It's important to keep in mind that Willis has only been charged so far, not convicted, and he remains innocent until proven guilty. Very few of the facts have come out here yet. Still, what's been released doesn't look good for Willis:

It's worth pointing out that this is a very serious situation, and one that could result in Willis missing playing time. According todrivinglaws.org, the penalties for a first DUI in Georgia can include from 24 hours to one year in jail, a fine of $300-$1,000, a license suspension of up to a year and a minimum of forty hours of community service. If he gets towards the upper end of that jail time, he might miss the entire CFL season. That doesn't seem all that likely, as Willis doesn't seem to have a notable prior record, but you never know what will happen. Even if he gets off relatively easily from a legal perspective, though, Willis' arrest could still make his time with the Roughriders more difficult; it will be harder to trot him out for community events and such if he has a DUI on his record, and this definitely isn't going to help his reputation, which is already poor in many corners of the league.

In the end, how Willis deals with this is completely up to him. The CFL's always been big on second chances, and if Willis continues to perform on the field while staying out of trouble off of it, he could still be an incredible acquisition for the Roughriders. If he gets into further legal trouble, though, teams don't tend to have infinite patience; just look at the likes of Adam Braidwood and Yonus Davis. There were already plenty of people in CFL circles willing to criticize Willis, and this certainly won't help his standing any. The crucial question is how he'll respond. If this marks a turning point where Willis stays out of off-field trouble while putting up his traditionally excellent on-field numbers, he'll be a Roughrider for a long while. If he gets into more off-field incidents, though, this trade may not work out for Saskatchewan after all.