Miami’s Shelby reinstated following suspension

DAVIE, Fla. (AP) — Suspended defensive lineman Derrick Shelby was reinstated Tuesday, returned to practice with the Miami Dolphins and said afterward he had messed up.

Shelby was suspended without pay last week after his arrest on misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest and trespassing at a nightclub. Coach Joe Philbin said Shelby was reinstated after the Dolphins completed their investigation into the matter.

Shelby declined to talk about his legal case, but had no quarrel with the suspension.

“I messed up, and we have our rules here,” he said. “When you mess up, you know you mess up.”

Shelby said the hardest part regarding the episode had been the opinions expressed about him.

“That stinks that people don’t know you, and then they say things about you,” he said. “You’ve just got to live with it. What are you going to do about it?”

In a statement, Shelby apologized to his teammates, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, coach Joe Philbin and the fans, saying he accepted responsibility for the distraction he caused and learned from his actions.

Shelby has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The third-year veteran played in the first four games as a reserve this season but missed Sunday’s loss to Green Bay.

“Derrick understood that he would be held accountable for his actions, as they did not represent our organizational standards,” Philbin said in a statement.

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AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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