The debate came about on the TOcho Show.
Before I gave you my thoughts, lets take a look at what T.O. had to say.
The question was how he felt about the way Roethlisberger was punished and how Vick was punished:
“This is not his first or second time in trouble,” Owens said of Roethlisberger. “Some years back, he had the motorcycle accident, too. And all this good stuff. So now this is compounded with that. So he has a rap sheet.”
“Here’s Ben Roethlisberger,” Owens said. “Quarterback. Caucasian. For the Pittsburgh Steelers. This is his second time with allegations for sexual assault.”
A couple of things.
Roethlisberger for all of his questionable actions has never been charged or even arrested with a crime. Vick no matter how you feel about dog fighting, Vick was charged with a Federal crime and went to jail for two years.
The problem isn’t race, it is about being fair.
I think many would agree that sexual assault is a much more serious offense than dog fighting, but this is still the United States and you are still innocent until proven guilty.
Roger Goodell suspended Roethlisberger not because he was guilty, but because he kept making the NFL look bad. You could make a strong argument since Roethlisberger was never charged, he shouldn’t have been suspended.
There was a solid reason why Vick was suspended—he was in JAIL.
Can’t play ball when you are walking the yard.
When Vick was eligible to play in the NFL again, you know how long he was suspended for?
Three games.
Roethlisberger was suspended four games.
I am not putting my head in the sand here. Racism and prejudice are all around us even in sports. But in this particular situation, I think both Roethlisberger and Vick were treating fairly.
They were two totally different issues and I think race had nothing to do with it.
The racial component comes from how the fans perceived each quarterback upon their return and you could even say there is a racial component in how they have been treated in the mainstream media.
That wouldn’t be a stretch, but purely on their punishments, it was very black and white and cut and dry, no pun intended.
T.O. is entitled to his opinion, but it is my opinion he is totally off base.
