It is 5:31 pm on Sunday, less than an hour before the AFC Championship Game, and I for one am sick and tired of all the Ray Lewis talk. It's bad enough our society treats guys like this as Gods in the first place, but in his case it is certainly unwarranted. All week, and especially today, the Ray Lewis worship has intensified to such a level, it is becoming uncomfortable to watch. Pundit after pundit are heaping praise on this guy, for his activities on and off the field. People I normally respect, like Chris Berman and Terry Bradshaw. Please guys, give me, and all the rest of the law abiding folks out here in the real world, a break. Ray Lewis will, in my mind, be forever stained by the events which occurred on January 31, 2000 outside a bar in Atlanta. If you may recall, there was an altercation and when it was all said and done, two men lay bleeding to death on the sidewalk, while Ray Lewis and his entourage fled in a limousine. Although there was a criminal trial, and civil settlements, Ray Lewis has never been made to give a full accounting of what happened that night, or his roll in the incident. I think the families of those two men deserve those answers.
Before writing this blog, I was looking up information on that crime, and came across a very well put together piece by Greg Stewart. Ray Lewis Trial Timeline It is clear from this article Mr. Lewis never completely atoned for his actions that night. Now, all these years later, Mr. Lewis is a longtime football player who is retiring at the end of a productive career on the field and suddenly he is being revered as some type of hero. It is sickening given what little we know about his involvement in the deaths of two people. How is it that grown men, educated men, public figures, can bring themselves to get this low in the mud over this person? Let's face it, we are not talking about Derek Jeter, Tom Brady, Payton Manning, Larry Bird or (I was going to add Lance Armstrong but...) any number of other great athletes who may deserve these accolades. No, Ray Lewis in my opinion is nothing more than a thug who could play good ball. Even if he came clean today, it would not change the way I feel, too much time has gone by and the families of those men have been hurt too much.
Put yourself in their shoes for a moment. How do you think they feel to see this idolization of him? My guess is, it hurts. We will never know the truth of that night but for two young men, it doesn't matter. For them, and their families, it was a night to be remebered by pain and hurt.
Here's to hoping the New England patriots put the lights out on this disgusting story that is Ray Lewis, once and for all
