Derrick Martin of the Ravens Claims Mistaken Identity in Drug Arrest

Yesterday's news that Ravens cornerback Derrick Martin got arrested in the Cleveland airport for marijuana possession didn't raise much of an eyebrow. Sadly, we're all to accustomed to NFL players running afoul of the law and TSA agents finding weed in a travel bag is all too believably routine to elicit surprise. Martin denying it was him, though, is a new twist.

The Baltimore Sun apparently believes Martin's story, since they are running a story about the case under the headline "Ravens Martin mistakenly linked to drug arrest." A click on the link, however, finds an AP story which merely says that a man with the same name and date of birth as Martin was arrested in the Cleveland airport.

A Ravens spokesman, Kevin Byrne, says that Martin denies the incident ever happened. According to the Carroll County Times, the Derrick Martin who was arrested listed his hometown as Owings Mills, Maryland. Raven watchers know that's where the team's headquarters are located, which makes it a pretty plausible address for a player on the team.

That all adds up to one helluva coincidence. There are eight Derrick Martins living in Maryland listed on Whitepages.com, though none of those men live in Owings Mills. If Martin is telling the truth, great, but if he isn't he may be making things much worse for himself. The marijuana charge carries a $100 fine as penalty but the NFL frowns upon players trying to cover up arrests.

(H/T PFT)