Watching NFL today and all of the tributes to Ray Lewis I have always been troubled by the idolization of a guy who was involved in a double murder for which he has never fully come clean about. While the evidence for convicting him for the murders was never clear a lot of that appears to be because of destruction and coverup of evidence. Ray Lewis himself plead guilt to obstruction of justice which likely avoided being tried for the murders. I understand football and violence go together and often the best players, especially on defense, are thuggish by nature. That said something just seems wrong about praising a guy like Ray Lewis and passing over the seriousness of the crimes that he was involved in.
Yeah, I think the same thing every time he is glorified -- the guy was involved in a double murder and it is completely ignored now.
He is a changed man. e 60 Spoiler <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Y2A6soA4JEs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> his speeches. Spoiler <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/8eAXaGXMtd8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/HyC96pCnw08" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/0oidVxMJdUo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QO-XM4JMeAI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/07fhOVQ9wEA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
I am really disappointed that Arian Foster called him a role model. I think being involved in a double murder and not coming clean about it should disqualify you as a role model.
Of course he gives great inspirational talks and has done a lot of good things since. I am sure he considers himself a changed man, coming close to a double murder charge should make you a changed man. Somethings though shouldn't just be forgotten.
Yeah, I've often had the same confusion as to the "honor" Lewis receives. I saw some thing with the Referees and they were talking about how if they talked to Ray Lewis he had the leadership to help diffuse problems. It all made it seem like he was the model citizenship leader out there. Maybe that is the way he acts on the field. It doesn't change his involvement in that horrible incident in which people lost their lives.
Well it's not like Lewis and his friends rolled up on some innocent guys and just decided to murder them. There was a fight, and it seems one of the victims or one of their friends had a gun and fired several shots. It's true, we'll never know everything that happened that night, but a jury believed Ray's 2 friends when they claimed that they acted in self defense because they were acquitted of murder. I know I disliked Lewis for the longest time and it's not like I forget that he was involved in actions that lead to 2 deaths, but you also can't forget all the other things he does as a leader on the field and in the locker room. You certainly can't ignore what he does for his community and for sick or disadvantaged children. There's no way somebody could fake that for the sake of trying to improve their image. People who are that scummy to begin with don't change really and it's pretty easy to see right through them.
I am not saying that Ray Lewis should've been banned from the NFL or that this was a miscarriage of justice but I think calling him a role model is going much too far. While yes his friends were acquitted and the victims weren't exactly model citizens but Lewis has never come clean about this and by his own admission obstructed justice. I kind of look at like the most morally grounded president thread. Nixon did do a lot of good things and I have argued that he shouldn't be considered the worst president but he should not be praised as a president or a role model.
Consider that Michael Vick did prison time and is still reviled for his involvement with dog fighting while Ray Lewis is now praised. Vick had the misfortune of getting afoul of a group more fanatical than sports fans, dog owners, while Ray Lewis was just involved in a fight with some shady characters. To me that doesn't speak well of our culture.
I got nothing against dogs. I am a pet owner myself and thought about getting a dog but it seems pretty clear to me that if not for the love that people have for their pets Michael Vick might not have been so reviled. Vick deserves to be reviled but it seems to me like Ray Lewis transgressions are not only just forgotten but he is now praised. I doubt that will ever happen to Vick when both of them were involved in horrible incidents.
Our culture, really? This is the same once great culture that has celebrated outlaws from the wild west to prohibition mobsters and bootleggers to inner city gangsters. The same culture that enslaved an entire race and then denied them equal rights for generations after they were freed. The same culture that denied women equal rights. Frankly, our culture is always steadily improving IMHO. The Vick thing is still too recent, but even now people have mostly moved past the dog fighting and talk more about his failings as a player than as a man and a citizen. Its been almost 13 years since the Lewis incident. It bothered people for some time (Lewis was Superbowl MVP and didn't get asked to Disney world). Time erodes everything, even feelings.
....were you around for that one season when Vick was a MVP candidate? He got tons of praise then. He doesn't get praise now because loleagles, not because of the dog incident.
I was just reading over the case on Ray Lewis' wiki page. So it seems like nobody went to jail for the murders?
I never liked him. Initially, it seemed he was the embodiment of all the worst of the Miami image and the murder deal just sealed it for me. I feel revulsion whenever I see him on TV or hear announcers gushing over him. Great football player, but that is all.
