Sports Hollywood - Ed Marinaro

Ed Marinaro With All Due Respect

The Super Bowl Ain't No Party

Ray Lewis
There was a time I was proud to say I was a former NFL player. I still am for the most part, but over the years I have slowly become embarrassed by the antics of many in the profession. Let me preface this column by saying I am down here in Tampa for the Super Bowl, and I don't know if its me, but there is a bittersweet feel to the contest this year.

It has saddened me to see a great coach and good man like Coach Billick have to come out and defend Ray Lewis to the media this week. Sure, he felt like he had no option but to speak up for his player, but why should he have to? He had to because, although Ray Lewis did not commit double murder last year, he did lie and hamper a police investigation.

While it's great to see a team rally around a teammate, the Ravens players sound to me like a family who has committed to blind loyalty, afraid to believe the worst about a loved one. The family wishes to blame others, i.e., the media, for persecuting someone they know in their heart of hearts was involved in something that is very wrong.

I'm sure Ray Lewis did not murder those two guys last year, but he was there, he saw what happened, and he lied about it. Should he have gone on trial for murder? No. But, he lied to investigators and obstructed justice in a double homicide. This isn't the same as obstruction in a shoplifting case. This is a double homicide, and by Ray Lewis obstructing the case, he hampered the investigation into what actually happened, furthering the pain and agony of the dead men's family.

I understand making mistakes, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, even being around people you shouldn't maybe be around, but it was Lewis's attitude after the trial and during this week at the Super Bowl that really turns me off. He hasn't shown any attrition, remorse or compassion towards the family of these two men. He acts as though he was the victim in this whole situation, and although he was on trial for something he didn't personally do, he created his own prison with his lies. I'm no psychologist, but it almost seems like it's overcompensation on Lewis's part…maybe there is something eating away at his conscience.

And what about the two families? Two of their loved ones are dead, and although their justice has not yet arrived, I have a feeling it will one day. Somehow the universe has a way of evening things out in the end, and I believe Ray Lewis will continue to live with this dark cloud over his head and heart until he admits his mistakes to himself and to the families of the two men who died in his presence.

January 26, 2000

edmarinaro@sportshollywood.com