The World's Common Tater

With the Ravens run to the Super Bowl coupled with Ray’s Last Ride has come more talk about the murder case from Atlanta 13 years ago. Many people who are not fans of the Ravens or Lewis jump into any discussion of the team calling Lewis a murderer and saying he should be in prison not the NFL.  I was not with Lewis in Atlanta, so I can’t say for sure what happened, but I can give an informed opinion.

What everyone knows is that there was a fight and two people died. Ray Lewis was in the vicinity of the fight and with people who were involved in the fight. There are no witnesses that testified that Ray Lewis was involved in the actual fight. Ray Lewis did make the mistake of caring more about protecting himself and his friends than doing the right thing and helped his friends flee the scene of the crime.  He did eventually agree to testify and plead guilty to obstruction of justice. The two actually involved in the fight were acquitted by the jury for reasons of self-defense. If the two who actually did the stabbing were acquitted, why should we think Lewis should be in prison?

Is it a horrible thing that two people were killed 13 years ago? Yes, it was. Was Lewis wrong in his initial decision to protect his friends instead of doing the right thing? Yes, he was. Do I think Lewis actually killed a man? No, I don’t think there is any evidence of that. Do I think this was a wake-up call for Lewis and the reason he turned his life around? Yes, I do.Do I believe the family has a right to still be upset and want someone to pay for the death of their family members? Yes, I do. Do I think people who weren’t there and have no idea what happened should shut up about it? Yes, I do. Do I think the reason they aren’t is because they are bitter fans of other teams and/or seeking attention?  Yes, I do.

Now, let’s move on and focus on the football.