Papa’s Basement Radio Show 2-4-13-We Call the Super Bowl
Jimmy the Greek, my mentor in both gambling and race relations. In the Super Bowl aftermath, any red-blooded American is trying to soak up all the football he can before […]
Ray Lewis has done it. After declaring that the 2012 season would be his “last ride” in January, the Ravens have won the Super Bowl, and he has ended his career with a second ring to bookend the first. Widely hailed as one of the greatest defensive players of all time, he can now go off into the sunset at the pinnacle of his profession’s achievement and begin watching his son, Ray III, play college ball this fall. It should all be so sweet. And it is. Except for the fact that countless people still think of Ray Lewis as being directly involved in the stabbing of two men.
Come again? Ray Lewis involved in a stabbing? Sadly, by this point in time, a lot of people have never heard the story. That, after the Super Bowl in Atlanta on January 31, 2000, two men were stabbed to death. That Ray Lewis and two friends were charged with their murders. That Lewis copped guilty to a lesser charge of obstruction of justice in exchange for his testimony against his two co-defendants, which was unable to yield a conviction.
13 years have passed. Passions have cooled. Memories have faded. The media, while aware of the incident, seems content to let Lewis skate with indirect answers to their indirect questions. Ray, for his part, has grown extremely pious (at least verbally) in the time since the murders, often stating lines to the effect of “all is part of God’s plan” when asked about them.
And that is why, after all this time, I still harp on the stabbings whenever 52’s name comes up. I’m not a religious man, but I think that God, if you believe in Him, stands for truth and honesty. To invoke His name to escape coming clean is evil and, well, wrong. Does Ray Lewis owe us an explanation of what happened that night? Not legally, no. But it is rather difficult to focus on his football legacy without one. So go right ahead claiming that it’s all part of His plan any time the murders are mentioned, Ray. I’ll be using the same line any time someone asks me why I’m such a prick about you.
Lids on February 6, 2013
Amen