The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

One of the most feared and hard hitting linebackers to ever play the game has announced he will retire after the playoffs.  Twelve Pro Bowl appearances, two time defensive player of the year, MVP of Super Bowl XXXV and the only player with over 40 sacks and 30 interceptions.  He will be greatly missed.

I know he is tough to root for and not very likable, but Lewis might go down as the best or one of the very best middle linebackers to ever play in the NFL. He was that good!

Underestimated coming out of The U. Revered as one of the best linebackers of all time. When Mike Singletary calls you one of the greatest, then you're one of the greatest.

I gotta say, I watched on NFL Network A Football Life - Ray Lewis, and I have grown a respect for the guy.  I really like him, his attitude and hard work.  Despite the whole "accused of murder" thing, I think he is a good person and a role model.

I recommend you watch the show if you catch it.  They replay it frequently.

He was always a great leader and a hard worker.  Never a locker room cancer.

As for the murder charge, I don't buy it for a second.  Although his "posse" got into an altercation with another group of guys and two guys were stabbed to death, it was obvious from the get go that he wasn't the one who pulled the knife.

^^^ He abetted the criminals, and helped cover up the crime.  It doesn't matter whether he was the one that did the killing, he is and always will be guilty of murder in my book.  Had he stood up like a man and told what he knew, THEN he would be worthy of earning my respect.

He stood up and told what he knew, after the prosecution let him plead down to an Obstruction of Justice charge.  Why did they let him plead down?  Because they knew they didn't have a case against him. 

Absolutely. In fact, they didn't actually let him plead down. There was no plea. He was never charged with anything other than obstruction because he never did anything. These guys who get in trouble- it never ends up being an isolated incident if they're guilty of anything. Ray has been the model of consistency as a leader and not once been in any kind of trouble since then that I'm aware of. No DUI's. No scandals with guns or strippers or baby mama's. I honestly can't figure out what's NOT to like about Lewis and I will miss seeing him on the field. -EK

Even the guys that Lewis flipped on weren't convicted of anything, so it's hard to see how one could find Lewis to be guilty of murder.

^^^ O.J. was not convicted either but the majority of the country felt he was guilty.

Back on topic, I always enjoyed Ray Lewis. I don't think anyone has a credible argument against him being one of the very best ever.

Sidebar, I was playing pool last night and there was a guy sitting at the bar talking to a Ravens fan I know. I guess the guy was some kind of wrestler at some point (I did not recognize him but I never kept up with that sort of thing after I reached puberty) and was saying he is friends with Ray Lewis. He was promising to get the guy some signed stuff. We'll see what happens with that.

I have always enjoyed watching him play....he has been a beast through his whole career.

Sure, that's why he paid off the murder victim's family.  People innocently accused of crimes always pay of the victims' families.

The murderers left with Ray, in Ray's limo.  The limo stopped to dump bloody clothes.  The suit Ray was wearing that night "disappeared".  I won't miss seeing him at all.

Which murderers were those? Oakley and Sweeting were acquitted, so there were no murderers with Lewis. -EK

So am I to believe those two guys who are buried stabbed themselves???  Let me guess, you think OJ is not a murderer.

It doesn't matter what I think. If someone is acquitted of a crime, they're acquitted. It's why we have a legal system. i suppose you favor a system in which everyone who was ever accused of something was automatically guilty without trial?

And in this case of Lewis, there wasn't even enough evidence to charge him with murder. He didn't "plead down" from a murder charge, because there was no charge to plead down from. So how is he "guilty" of someone else's alleged actions? -EK

Exactly.  The evidence provided only places him at the crime scene.  It doesn't prove he did it.  In fact, it proved that he didn't do it.  Therefore, if he doesn't tell what he knows, he is guilty of obstructing justice, but not of murder. 

^^^ So your okay with him helping to cover up two murders committed by his friends, in his presence.  NICE.

What did he do to "cover it up?" Just because you believe this happened and keep making that claim does not mean it's true. -EK

Doesn't make him a murderer.  That's pretty clear.  Even if he did what you say, he is still not a murderer.  Accessory maybe, but to be a "murderer" you have to kill someone.

^^^ Not always true.  If you are with someone in commission of a felony, and someone is killed, you can be convicted of murder even if you are not the one that physically commits the act of killing.

Provided the getaway vehicle, destroyed evidence (his clothes), was present when evidence was discarded, stonewalled police and prosecutors.  I'm not making this stuff up, a simple google search will provide you with scores of newpaper articles.  The fact he paid off the victims' families is well known.

Provided a getaway vehicle? You mean the car they were travelling in to begin with? Destroyed his clothes? Proof or is that what the media is claiming? Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard alleged the blood-stained suit was dumped in a garbage bin outside a fast food restaurant, but since he had no proof of this, it's not a fact. Yes, he gave inaccurate info to police. That's what he was charged with and found guilty of. That's hardly "covering up" something. You keep mentioning that he gave money to the victims' families as if that's proof of guilt. I have no idea how much you know about Lewis's spirituality and charity work, but if you're familiar with it at all, it's not unreasonable that he simply felt bad for the families that his associates had a hand in their death and wanted to do the right thing. When a whole group of people get into a brawl- which is what happened- and someone ends up dead, you have no way of knowing who did it, whether it was self-defense, or how it even happened. -EK