It would probably be a very cheap shot to say Baltimore LB Ray Lewis (above) is uniquely qualified speak on the matter of violent crime. For starters, the loveable deodorant pitchman had double murder charges against him dropped in 2000 in exchange for his testimony against two buddies who were eventually acquitted, so it would be a huge stretch to claim Lewis has any particular insights on this subject. However, it is also possible ESPN couldn’t find anyone else who’d plead guilty to obstruction of justice charges along with being a Super Bowl MVP to discuss the ongoing lockout of NFL players.
“Do this research if we don’t have a season — watch how much evil, which we call crime, watch how much crime picks up, if you take away our game,” Lewis told ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio.
That’s because, Lewis said, the NFL lockout affects “way more than us” — the owners and the players.
“There’s too many people that live through us, people live through us,” he said. “Yeah, walk in the streets, the way I walk the streets, and I’m not talking about the people you see all the time.”
When asked why he thought crime would increase if the NFL doesn’t play games this year, Lewis said: “There’s nothing else to do Sal.”
Sunday is Day 68 of the lockout, which is now the longest work stoppage in NFL history. Lewis said the current dispute boils down to a matter of ego.
“It’s simple, we really got to remove pride. Seriously,” he said.
As for Lewis’ claim “there’s nothing else to do”, I don’t know who should feel more insulted, the programming executives at the Lifetime Network or the hardworking players of the United Football League.
According to Lewis, the NFL needs to play year round to keep the crime down all the time.
Phil Mickelson says Ray Lewis can fuck right off.
These guys make too much money,they were drafted mostly from college it is about time they do something with their degrees. what about the plain Joe that does not make millions for running after a ball or playing catch,like dogs they should do it for free.
that’s the kind of sophisticated analysis I’ve come to expect from, well, any traffic we get via the Yardbarker widget. The likes of Lewis “make too much money”, yet they’re the ones risking life and limb in a career that’s insanely brief. The same cannot be said of Bob Kraft, Jerry Jones, etc. And let’s not be so naive about those degrees (presuming every player actually graduated). Those scholarships were provided in lieu of cash by another exploitative, money-making enterprise.
I guess the murder rate will go up again now that Ray has some days off.
and GC,
boo hoo. The owners make more money than the employees. Big deal, that is the case in every industry, unless you happen to live in a socialist society. How about instead on spending their entire salary on “making it rain” and cars and rims, they invest for their future when they no longer play the game.
Anyone who ever says someone makes too much money. Is broke. Value is value and if a person is worth millions to their employer then they should be paid millions. As far as playing a violent sport that can destroy your body, paralyze you, and even kill you for free. What sense does that make?
Time is an asset and no man should not value that. Poor people kill me with their lack of abundance thinking. Go read a book
“boo hoo. The owners make more money than the employees. Big deal, that is the case in every industry, unless you happen to live in a socialist society.”
You know what would suck even more than “living in a socialist society”? Living in a society where the right to bargain collectively is only protected when assholes like you decide the workforce in question in sufficiently humble.
Look out Ray “Murderer” Lewis is on the loose, Keep a lookout for a purple Chrysler 300 with that fat slob hanging out with a AK in a drive by.
No wonder the NFL players are getting in trouble. Look how the NFL make that killer Ray Lewis as a spokesmen for the league, HE IS A KILLER AND ALWAYS WILL BE. The judical system is easy to manipulate when you;re a star in the NFL. just ask O.J.
ROGER GODELL IS A LOSER AND AND IS RUINING THIS LEAUGE
once again, thanks for the traffic, Yardbarker widget. What kind of deep analytical mind reads Ray Lewis’ remarks condemning the lockout and then concludes “look how the NFL make that killer Ray Lewis a spokesman for the league”?
I think what Mr.Lewis is saying is true. Those who look up to their football hero’s, those who have nothing to believe in, those who live in squaler and those who do live in 3rd world poverty in the U.S. have something to believe in when they see others who hail from their domains doing something more with their lives besides any type of serious crime and the see others defying odds most do not ever dream to be real. And these others are football players! So, will crime rise–most likely it will. But, maybe their hero’s can teach them about the many who are not athletes or rappers. Those others who rose out of poverty thru education, becoming business owners, or just plain hard working people. That would be one answer to stop what Mr. Lewis believes will take place.
the full extent of Lewis’ televised remarks show a more thoughtful perspective than the ESPN.com excerpts. I might find Lewis’ notion of “evil” or “nothing to do” a tad simplistic, but there’s no way you can watch the interview and come away from it thinking you’ve just seen a greedy pro athlete only concerned with his own lot.
And I’m not just writing that because i’m worried about getting stabbed.
Isn’t Superbowl Sunday the worst day in terms of domestic abuse in America? I get what Lewis is saying here, and he’s certainly not the first person to suggest violent sports serve as an outlet for our baser emotions and impulses. But it seems to me that football, especially with its connection to gambling and drinking, more likely inflames violence than replaces it. I don’t know. I hate the NFL at this point, basically think players are victims in the long run and would love it not to have a season or two or a million. I could be biased.
“Isn’t Superbowl Sunday the worst day in terms of domestic abuse in America? ”
urban myth.
“I get what Lewis is saying here, and he’s certainly not the first person to suggest violent sports serve as an outlet for our baser emotions and impulses”
actually, that’s not exactly what he’s suggesting. Some might call pro football a diversion, the less cynical would say it gives people something to care about beyond their own daily lives. Whether or not you approve, that’s hardly the same thing as claiming football is an opiate for an otherwise unruly great unwashed.
ah, I see. I misunderstood what he was he saying. My fault. So I guess I didn’t get exactly what he was saying. So his thinking would apply to other sport stoppages as well, such as the NBA or MLB?
you’ll have to take that up with Ray. Depends on whether or not you believe the NFL is the nation’s most popular professional sports league and / or if you believe the NFL has particular appeal for the disenfranchised.
I’ll say this much — i remember the last time there was a work stoppage in the NBA and one in the NHL. The amount of angst generated by each in no way compared to the way fans and media are treated the current NFL labor dispute, and we’ve not even seen a preseason game cancelled.