Lost by many in the brouhaha regarding the photos of Matt Leinart cavorting with a gaggle of young ladies is the question of whether the girls seen drinking alcohol were of legal age, and if so whether Leinart provided them with the alcohol they were drinking.

It’s only fair.  Bengals receiver Chris Henry was suspended for eight games due in part to a conviction for doing just that.  If Leinart did the same thing, justice and fairness require that he suffer a similar fate.

Indeed, how hard would it be to identify the girls in the photos?  We’ve already received an e-mail from one reader who believes that he knows one of the girls in the pictures, and if she is who the reader says she is, her MySpace profile says that she is under the age of 21.

We’re not saying that any of the girls were/are under 21 or that Leinart gave alcohol to any of them.  We’re only saying that the matter needs to be investigated, and if charges are appropriate then charges should be pursued.

If the authorities merely brush this under the rug, a major flaw in the NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy will be revealed.  Discipline is meted out to players who have been charged with or convicted of crimes; thus, any player who can avoid being charged with a crime apparently can avoid the imposition of discipline by the NFL.

In this regard, the league probably should launch its own investigation.  There were indications a year ago that NFL Security was active in connection with the Mike Vick imbroglio.  Shouldn’t the league set those same resources in motion to determine whether there’s reason to believe that Leinart gave booze to people who were too young to buy and/or drink it?