More Info on Locklear's Arrest

The media in Seattle has the police report and are amending their earlier coverage:

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that Locklear allegedly grabbed his girlfriend by the neck with both hands, and that the woman had red marks on her neck. The argument was outside of Belltown Billiards (not Pioneer Square, as originally reported) after the woman was dancing with another man. Locklear acknowledged that the two had been arguing, but that he grabbed her by the shirt, not the neck.

The Seattle Times counters with some quotes from Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren and QB Matt Hasselbeck. The team isn't commenting publicly, but they acknowledge that something happened, but don't foresee it being a distraction.

I'd never minimize the seriousness of a domestic violence incident, which is why I'm not 100% sure we'll see Sean Locklear on the field this Sunday. This matter may very well be overblown (the woman, Locklear's girlfriend, pleaded with the police not to arrest him), but you never know if he'd be able to block this from his mind during the game. The team may be better off with Floyd "Pork Chop" Womack at RT this Sunday, but one of the statements the franchise has made is that they expect Locklear to be at practice on Wednesday (their first day of on-field preparation for Sunday's game with the Panthers).

He's a young man (24 years old) and his only "prior" was a speeding ticket during college in Raleigh, NC. This does not appear to be the latest skirmish with authorities by a habitual offender, so it's entirely possible that alcohol, jealousy and testosterone got the best of Locklear on Saturday night. Perhaps 48 hours spent in a jail cell, instead of at home and at work preparing for the biggest game of his career, could be enough for Locklear to realize that regardless of the severity of the situation, being out at that hour of the night is probably not a good idea. Not when you've spent the last 5 months busting your ass to help your team get to the point where you're 60 minutes away from the Super Bowl.

My hope is that this is an isolated incident and that this young man realizes his mistake, learns his lesson and becomes a better man for it. It's a case like this where maybe the best place for Locklear, is back with his teammates. Offensive lines tend to be tightly-knit groups, and the Seahawks have several veteran offensive lineman who are without a doubt willing to help Locklear in whatever way possible.