Terrell Suggs: Thug, Idiot, Politician?
From ESPN.com:
During the “2 Live Stews” syndicated radio show on Oct. 17, when he was asked, “Did you all put a bounty out on that young man [Mendenhall],” Suggs replied, “Definitely. The bounty was out on him and the bounty was out on [Ward] — we just didn’t get him between the whistles.”
Later in the same article:
“There wasn’t any bounty,” Suggs said, according to the newspaper. “He [the talk show host] asked me if there was a bounty and I just said I’m going to keep a watch on the guy. He [Ward] broke some guy’s jaw last week, and he tried to cheap shot JJ [Jarret Johnson]. He has also cheap-shotted Ed Reed. We’re just going to be on alert the next time we play him.”
Football: it’s fast-paced, hard-hitting, and at times, just plain BRUTAL. But there’s a line on everything. Terrell Suggs came out and said, in his own words that there was indeed a “bounty” on not only Rashard Mendenhall(Steelers rookie tailback from Illinois) but also Hines Ward. Leads a guy to wonder: is it coincidence Mendenhall’s season was ended against Suggs’ Ravens? Backtracking to another posting on ESPN.com:
The first-round pick from Illinois [Mendenhall], whose first career start will come against the Ravens on “Monday Night Football,” recently sent a text message to friend and Ravens rookie tailback Ray Rice saying he’s going to have a big game against the NFL’s top-ranked defense.
Let’s be honest, folks: who’s ever been in competition with a friend and not mentioned how we were going to mop the floor with them? I’ve done it. I’ve been doing it on a weekly basis playing fantasy football. My record? 3-4(an overall 9-5 through two leagues). Not good by any means, but we’re talking about playing against my friends here. I’m going to continue to talk smack throughout the season. Why? For a laugh. Am I going to win my league? Possibly- but now I’m getting off on a tangent.
Point of the matter: everyone in the NFL is playing for two reasons- love of the game, and a paycheck. Now, Suggs has essentially said there was an incentive out on Mendenhall’s head. How can that be construed any other way than to assume he(the team?) wanted Mendenhall hurt? You could say the bounty was to keep Mendenhall out of the endzone, but that’s kinda crazy. Your job as a defensive player in the NFL is to keep ALL members of the opposing team out of the endzone.
The part that really baffles me: why, after admitting to this “bounty” on national radio would you deny it? That doesn’t make good sense. That’s the equivalent of me calling a customer, in a conference call with several other customers on the line, making a guarantee, and later going back on it. There were thousands, probably hundreds of thousands who heard Suggs’ comments with their own ears. It’s not as if one guy heard it and it was relayed around the office to the internet. He seems to think he’s this masterful liar- maybe Suggs should join the Presidential race.
In the end: Suggs is a thug. Maybe he didn’t place this bounty on Mendenhall himself, but to follow through with it it just wrong. The NFL is currently investigating the situation and I’ll list more when it’s available.
