This season the Bengals will induct Dave Lapham and Lemar Parrish as the 11th and 12th members of their Ring of Honor. One of the 10 current members of the Ring of Honor thinks the Bengals have demonstrated why they have a reputation for cheapness in their handling of the induction ceremony.
Boomer Esiason, the former Bengals quarterback who is in the team’s Ring of Honor, said on his radio show today that the Bengals invited him to the game in which Lapham and Parrish will be honored but are expecting the Ring of Honor members to pay for their own flights to Cincinnati and their own hotel rooms for the weekend.
“I don’t know how to take this invite,” Esiason said.
Esiason read the invitation on his show, saying that aside from two complimentary tickets to the Week Eight Jets-Bengals game, the Ring of Honor members aren’t being comped anything. Esiason said the Bengals are not offering to pay for his flight, pay for his hotel or put him in a box during the game. Just two tickets in the stands and everything else he pays for himself.
“Do you think I’m an elitist if I say no to that?” Esiason asked.
The Bengals did say they secured a block of rooms at a Cincinnati hotel at a discounted rate. The team asked Ring of Honor members to RSVP by today to guarantee their seats to the game. Esiason did not say whether he plans to attend.