HEARD IT IN THE LOCKER ROOM

Rashard Mendenhall Loses Endorsement Following
Controversial Tweet

Apparently freedom of speech is a pleasure reserved for Americans only when saying what the public wants to hear. Rashard Mendenhall found that out the hard way after he lost his Champion endorsement on April 5. Just four days prior, President Barack Obama informed the country that after an assualt on a compound in Pakistan, Osama Bin Laden, the most wanted man in the world, had been killed. After this news it was highly speculated and requested by the general public that pictures of the deceased Bin Laden would be showcased for the world. The following day Mendenhall tweeted "What kind of  person celebrates death? Its amazing how people can hate a man they never even heard speak. We've only heard one side." Mendenhall went on to tweet his suspicions about 9/11. By the end of the hour, Mendenhall was a trending topic on the popular social networking website with many asking for apologies and many applauding him for speaking the truth. However, whether people agree or disagree, lack of empathy can get you put in the corner. Mendenhall issued an apology on Wednesday, but it was all just a little too late.

Reggie Bush A Little Salty About Saints Draft Pick?

The first round of the NFL draft proved to be quite interesting this year, with last minute scandalous trades and top picks falling completely out of the first round. One of the biggest shocks came when Mark Ingram received his phone call after sitting through selection after selection after selection. When it was time for the 28th pick, New Orleans made some trades and picked up the 2009 Heisman and BCS championship winning running back from the University of Alabama. Any devastation he felt about going so late in the draft was gone out the window as his selection immediately provoked the thought of how deadly the Saints offense would now become. However, while Ingram and his family were celebrating in Radio City Music Hall, Reggie Bush was pouting on twitter. He tweeted "Its been fun New Orleans", an implication that the threat of a new running back would prompt him to leave the team. In reality, its easy to see how a veteran can see a newbie as a danger, especially considering they now have to fight twice as hard for their starting position. The New Orleans running game was a hindrance last season, with players constantly being sidelined with injuries. Mark Ingram's talents will definitely be a plus. Reggie will come around, and should be fully expected to be in black and gold next season.

Albert Haynesworth Indicted on Sexual Abuse Charges

On Tuesday, April 26th, 2011 Washington Redskins defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth was indicted by a grand jury on charges stemming from sexual abuse charges that were filed against him in reference to an incident that occured at the W Hotel in Washington, D.C. this past February. A waitress claims that Haynesworth fondled her breasts after she, with a handful of dinnerware, gave him permission to stick his credit card in her shirt. Haynesworth, who seems to be a magnet for assault charges, and his legal team plan to fight the charges. If charged, he could face 180 days in jail or a $1,000 fine. For $1000, he could have just gone to the strip club and fondled whatever boob he wanted, and they would have liked it.

Dez Bryant Has a Come To Jesus Talk With Teammates

Dez Bryant, wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys is in a bit of a struggle with himself here lately. So much so that three veteran Cowboys felt like it was time for an "intervention". Keith Brooking, Tony Romo, and Andre Gurode all sat down the the young star this past Saturday to have lunch and discuss Bryant's off the field relations. Being jobless has proven to be quite a boring task for many NFL players around the league as reports of arrests have escalated. Bryant's problems haven't led to an arrest, but they are hitting his pockets where it hurts. Apparently, he has two pending lawsuits against him totaling just shy of one million dollars. One suit is for unpaid rent and damages to a rental location, and another is for jewelry that was not paid for. On top of that, Bryant and friends were kicked out of a Dallas mall after an altercation with security in which they were asked to pull up their sagging pants. (Not surprisingly, there were no complaints about the sagging pants from any female patrons in the mall.) Gurode stated to a Dallas Morning News reporter on Sunday that he planned to have a talk with Bryant that could help steer him down a better path. Bryant had quite an impressive season with Dallas as a rookie by having 6 touchdowns,45 receptions and clocking 561 rushing yards before ending the season with an ankle injury. Hopefully the talk worked. Bryant tweeted that he "had a good time" following the meeting.

Brandon Marshall in Another Domestic Mishap

Apparently there is a list of people who just have a niche for attracting drama, and at the top of that list sitting comfortably over the actors and rappers are professional athletes. And at  the top of THAT list, right next to Ron Artest, Albert Haynesworth, and Tiger Woods sits Brandon Marshall, wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins. Its exactly 48 hours from the reports that poured into ESPN, CNN, and other news outlets that Marshall was in intensive care due to stab wounds received by his wife Michi Nogami Marshall (pictured below). There are a few things that could have happened. Considering that Marshall originally told authorities that he fell onto a lamp, I'm going to take MY version of the story and run Forrest run. I believe there was a fight, Marshall probably stepped out of line and his wife stabbed him because she felt threatened. Why? Because if she really was some crazy lunatic, Marshall would've been like "Oh she stabbed the mess outta me, throw that crazy woman under the jail." He didn't, and he tried to protect her by making up a lie. A ridiculous lie, but altogether a lie. I also come to this conclusion because this isn't the first time Marshall has provoked violence. One previous time resulted in his then teammates untimely death. So now he's facing fines and suspensions from the NFL for his behavior, which technically thanks to this lockout, I believe they shouldn't be able to touch him with E.T.'s finger. Now his wife, that poor thing was in the slammer and had a hefty bond of $7,500. We definitely won't know exactly what happened until later, if they even choose to speak on it, or better yet, if they will stay together.

Michael Vick Will Always Be My Dawg

The first time I ever saw Michael Vick play football in person was in 2005. He was quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons and was probably the reason damn near every seat in the stadium was sold out. Michael Vick was just exciting to watch, and though he had a horrible game that day (Falcons/Giants) no one in the arena could take their eyes off of him. Matter of fact, you couldn't pop a rubberband in the Dome and not hit a fan with a Vick jersey on. He was the man that could do no wrong. Until he did something wrong. In April 2007, law enforcement raided his Virginia home and found a dog fighting operation that had probably been going on for years. Now I'm not going to get into the specifics, because I don't want to get you PETA assholes riled up again, but we all saw MSNBC and Larry King, and we all know what happened. 

Fast forward through 21 months of prison, and two months of home confinement, Michael Vick was a free man, nevertheless a felonious one.  Arthur Blank didn't want him back, and neither did half of the football fans across the country. He had lost everything: his endorsements with Nike, EA Sports, Gatorade, AirTran, and Rawlings to name a few. He even had to declare bankruptcy. Vick was a first time offender of the NFL's personal conduct policy, but Roger Goodall showed no mercy when suspending him, and the courts ordered him to pay back to the Falcons portions of his signing bonus. However, the bottom line was, Michael Vick was still a damn good quarterback and it would be a failure on behalf of the NFL as a whole if NO ONE took him in. Enter Andy Reid, head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, who with nudging from their current quarterback at the time, Donavon McNabb, agreed to give him a chance. I remember watching protesters outside of Lincoln Financial Field, selling their season tickets because they wanted to have nothing to do with Michael Vick...the man who fights dogs. They did NOT want him in Philadelphia.

So here is the part where I piss people off with my opinion. Its 2011 and Michael Vick had probably one of his best seasons ever. He has evolved into an athlete that is ten times better than the man who wore the number 7 in red and black for the Atlanta Falcons.  He's faster, stronger, wiser, and just simply amazing. So much so that by the end of the regular season, a lot of those people who gave their tickets away because they hated him so much found themselves on Craigslist trying to replace them. Michael Vick led the Eagles from what would have been a mediocre season to a wild card spot in the NFC. And although they lost their game which would have sent them to the playoffs, some of the best highlights of the season came from the Eagles franchise. Michael Vick was so good in fact, that the Eagles have placed a franchise tag on him.  So what I'm asking at this point is why is it necessary to keep referring to him as "The Felon, Michael Vick"? 

I can't stand a hypocrite, and I can't stand favoritism, so my issues with how news organizations other than ESPN continue to treat Michael Vick run deep. I'm so sick of them acting like they can't give this man a second chance and let his past go. Hell, O.J. Simpson killed a person and got away with it. A human! Not a dog! A human!! I'm not saying that I don't love dogs. I had a dog, RIP, and I loved him like he was a child. But a dog is a dog, and if I have to shoot a dog to save a person I will. Matter of fact, if someone said you have to smack a dog with a baseball bat for $1,000,000 it would be a lot of smacked dogs right now. And you also have to understand that dog fighting isn't some sort of thing that Vick invented. Dog fighting has been around  since dogs were first domesticated and was most popular during the 16th century. Depending on where you grew up, dog fighting was probably just as common as the neighbors fighting. Along with being illegal, the fact that gambling is involved clarifies that people know that its wrong, but the fact is that its still done and more often than you would think.

The consideration that Michael Vick was a millionaire at the time and probably could have found better things to do with his time and money does bother me. So I'm not saying that his punishment was wrong. There's a million other things he could have done with his spare time. Hell, he could have stuck dynamite in stuffed animals and went to a field and blew them up while sipping lemonade if he was that bored. He had that kind of money and that kind of time.  What I'm saying is that his punishment and time served are over, so its not up to "you" anymore to throw your two cents in. Recently he just received the keys to the city in Dallas during Superbowl week, and there was so much controversy over the issue. Even President Obama received flack for praising the owner of the Eagles and Andy Reid for giving him a second chance. The problem is we live in a country of judgmentals and holier than thous who think they can pass judgment on the next man. Some of you people that hate Michael Vick so much probably love dogs, and molest your kids. I'm sure its plenty of meth addicts who steal from everyone they know and think Michael Vick is awful. Well guess what. He has more discipline in his pinky to get up and work hard everyday than a meth addict has to not take Maw Maw's VCR to the pawn shop for some drug money. Hyprocrites and finger pointers in the press are why its so hard for people with felonies to get jobs when they get out of prison.

Well Michael, if you ever read this, I just want you to know that I'm a big fan. I was supporting you before you were in prison, while you were in prison, and now that you're out. If you keep working hard, your successes will be endless and this little drop in the bucket money that you lost will be tripled right back into your pockets. Keep up the good work.