BRONCOS: Denver quarterback Jay Cutler has been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, his business manager Marty Garafalo confirmed Thursday night.
The 25-year-old Cutler found out about two weeks ago that he was diabetic and needed daily insulin injections, Garafalo told The Associated Press.
He said Cutler was managing his disease and “in no way is his football career jeopardized.”
Some 21 million Americans have diabetes, meaning their bodies cannot properly turn blood sugar into energy. Either they don’t produce enough insulin or don’t use it correctly. With the Type 1 form, the body’s immune system attacks insulin-producing pancreatic cells, so that patients require insulin injections to survive.
“It’s something that he’s dealing with and something a lot of other people have,” Garafalo said. “Even though it’s a serious condition, it’s a condition that can be managed. That’s the way he’s treating it right now.
“Everything’s fine,” Garafalo continued. “His condition is fine.”
Cutler, entering his third NFL season, threw for 3,497 yards and 20 touchdowns last season after supplanting Jake Plummer with five weeks left in the 2006 season.
The 6-foot-3, 233-pound Cutler was taken by the Broncos with the 11th overall pick of the 2006 draft, becoming the first Vanderbilt player taken in the first round since 1986.
Other athletes who have competed with diabetes include Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Clarke, Charlotte Bobcats forward Adam Morrison, golfers Scott Verplank, Michelle McGann and Kelli Kuehne and Olympic swimmer Gary Hall Jr.
BENGALS: A woman has accused Cincinnati linebacker Ahmad Brooks of punching her in the face last month in Burlington, Ky.
Brooks was ordered to appear June 6 in Boone District Court on a complaint filed this week by Destiny Rosich. Based on the complaint, prosecutors charged Brooks with fourth-degree assault, a misdemeanor that carries up to a year in prison.
Rosich’s complaint said Brooks got into a loud disagreement with one of her neighbors in nearby Florence on April 9. When she tried to intervene, Brooks punched her in the left eye, temporarily knocking her unconscious, the complaint said.
Police were called to the scene but didn’t witness the alleged altercation. Rosich was told she could file a complaint.
Brooks played three seasons at Virginia before being kicked off the team.
Last month, the Bengals released receiver Chris Henry after he was arrested for the fifth time. Henry was one of 10 Bengals players arrested during a 14-month span from 2006-07.
SHOOTING: A man charged with shooting three people outside a Las Vegas strip club denies he was involved and accused suspended cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones of ordering the shooting and framing him to avoid identifying the real shooter.
Arvin Kenti Edwards of Renton is being held in a Washington state jail on $1 million bail pending extradition to Nevada. He talked with WTVF-TV in Nashville by phone for a report that aired Wednesday.
Edwards told the TV station in a telephone interview that Jones lied to police about the Feb. 19, 2007, shooting at the Minxx club that left an employee paralyzed and two other people wounded. Edwards said Jones paid someone for the shooting but that it wasn’t him.
He accused the cornerback of lying to help his plea deal as Jones tries to return to the NFL.
STEROIDS: A convicted steroids dealer was sentenced in federal court Thursday in Sherman, Texas, and told the judge that the drugs he sold ended up in the hands of NFL players.
David Jacobs, 35, was sentenced to three years probation and fined $25,000.
After the sentencing, he told reporters that he would not name the players whom he says used the steroids he sold. “I know a lot of them are scared,” Jacobs said. “I don’t want to ruin anyone’s life.”
Jacobs pleaded guilty last year in federal court to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute anabolic steroids. He’s also said he sold tens of thousands of dollars worth of performance-enhancing drugs to former Dallas Cowboy Matt Lehr in 2006 and 2007. Lehr has also played for Tampa Bay and Atlanta.
Lehr’s attorney has said the player hasn’t used banned substances since he was suspended for four games during the 2006 season while playing for Atlanta, and has since passed NFL drug tests. The attorney also has said Jacobs’ allegations are retaliation because Lehr wouldn’t pay Jacobs’ legal fees.
Associated Press
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