PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said kicker Jeff Reed will play against the undefeated Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, despite Reed's arrest on the North Shore two days ago.
"Anything that sheds a negative light on this organization is a distraction. It's not pleasant, but I'm paid well to deal with it," Tomlin said at his weekly news conference on Tuesday.
Last year,
Tomlin deactivated wide receiver Santonio Holmesand held him out of a big game against the defending Super Bowl champion Giants after Holmes got a misdemeanor drug citation -- which Holmes
challenged and later beat in court.
Tomlin said Holmes' situation was different, because he was cited by Pittsburgh police on a Thursday night -- just a few days away from a Sunday afternoon game -- and was benched not as a punitive measure, but as a way to "minimize distractions" to the team before the game.
"Santonio's incident occurred on a Thursday evening. It basically became something we had to deal with on a Friday leading up to a football game. We chose to deactivate him to minimize that distraction. His deactivation was not punitive. It was done to minimize a distraction and prepare our team to play a football game," said Tomlin.
In Reed's case, Tomlin said the player's arrest happened one week in advance of a game, which allowed the team enough time to talk to everyone involved and gather information. As a result, Reed was treated differently.
"I'm not going to let it dominate my train of thought as we prepare to play the Vikings," Tomlin said, adding that he has no "three strikes" rule or absolute policies regarding player discipline and approaches each incident on an individual basis.
Tomlin acknowledged that the Steelers don't have a backup kicker on the roster, which makes it difficult to replace Reed, but he said that wasn't the deciding factor in allowing Reed to continue playing.
Reed was
placed into handcuffs after an incident on North Shore Drive, just a couple of blocks from Heinz Field, where he kicked two field goals in a 27-14 win over the Cleveland Browns a few hours earlier on Sunday.
Previous Story - Police Details, Teammates' Reaction, McFadden's Employee Talks About ItReed's Atlanta-based agent, Don Henderson, told Pittsburgh media outlets on Monday that the kicker didn't raise his fists in front of police outside McFadden's bar as has been reported and that the officers were to blame.
Police Lt. Michael Piasecki said Reed, who was leaving the bar with his parents, argued with officers who arrived to cite Reed's teammate, backup tight end Matt Spaeth, for allegedly urinating in a parking lot.
"Mr. Reed took a fighting stance, balled up his fists, and the officers then took him into custody," Piasecki said.
Reed was charged with resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, public drunkenness and simple assault -- a misdemeanor that is the most serious charge he faces, Piasecki said.
"When he squares off against a police officer, that's considered an assault by statute," Piasecki said.
Although Reed was technically placed under arrest, he was not taken to the Allegheny County Jail and was released to his parents' custody. Reed will be mailed a summons to appear in court at a date to be determined.
Video: 
Reed Attends Breast Cancer Fundraiser Amid Police Controversy"You think he's put his hands up to fight a police officer? You've got to be kidding me," Henderson told WTAE Channel 4's news exchange partners at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "That's ridiculous. Jeff Reed wouldn't fight anybody, so we disagree with the police."
Reached Tuesday by The Associated Press, Henderson would not elaborate on his comments.
"We're just going to stay out of it right now," Henderson told the AP. "We'll get the information in the mail and we'll take care of it."
The Associated Press could not immediately locate Spaeth's agent for comment Tuesday.
An NFL spokesman confirmed the league is looking into the incident, but Steelers spokesman Dave Lockett said he doesn't believe that is "out of the ordinary."
This is Reed's second brush with the law this year.
He paid $543 in fines and restitution after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct and criminal mischief
for damaging a paper towel dispenser in a Sheetz bathroom in New Alexandria in February.
Asked if he was disappointed that Reed had gotten in trouble again, Tomlin said, "I don't talk about my levels of disappointment. That's relative in the big scheme of things."
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