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 Shannon Sharpe defends his friend and teammate, Ray Lewis.
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| | Wednesday, January 24
Sharpe comes to Lewis' defense with tirade
By Wayne Drehs
ESPN.com
TAMPA, Fla. -- Apparently, the Baltimore Ravens want to keep Ray Lewis' name in the Super Bowl XXXV headlines.
On Wednesday, two days after coach Brian Billick orchestrated a blasting of the media for coverage of Lewis and his offseason murder trial, tight end Shannon Sharpe concocted an event of his own, vehemently voicing his displeasure for the way his teammate has been treated the past few weeks.
"I just wish the media, all 2,700 of you all, would print him being the best football player in the entire NFL with the same passion and the same prejudice you write that stuff about last year," Sharpe said. "That's all he asks. Give him a fair shake."
The event took place at Wednesday morning's Ravens interview session, after Sharpe had finished his own news conference. Sharpe walked to the table where Lewis was sitting in front of a throng of reporters, stood behind the linebacker and started massaging his shoulders, saying, "This is my boy here. This is my boy."
Then the tirade began.
"I have not one time this week heard anyone ask Ray about the Giants in the Super Bowl or the Ravens in the Super Bowl," Sharpe said. "Instead, it's, 'Well, Ray, what was it like when you were in jail? Well, Ray, what was it like to go through all that?' What do you think it was like? The man was fighting for
his life, his livelihood and all the things that were going to be taken away from him. That's what it's like. Imagine someone's going to take your life away from you. How would you react?"
While Sharpe went on his tear, Lewis sat with his head down, a blank look on his face and a blue floppy hat shielding his eyes from the glare of camera spotlights. Sharpe's anger wasn't directed only at the media. He also attacked the Atlanta Police Department.
"Ted Bundy killed something like 30 people and it took them a long time to charge him," Sharpe said. "Ray Lewis wasn't even involved with this and he was charged in 24 hours. Whether or not they felt he did it, they had Ray Lewis. They thought to themselves, if we don't have anybody else, we have Ray Lewis."
During Tuesday's Super Bowl XXXV media session, Lewis had very little to say about being charged with murder or the way the media has handled his story. On Wednesday, Sharpe fired out the quotes some had hoped to extract from Lewis a day earlier.
"All we want is the coverage to be fair. But you can't get none of that," Sharpe said. "They write over and over again about the orange coveralls Ray wore in jail, about him not combing his hair, about the handcuffs and shackles.
"Why don't you give him the same type of credit for being the defensive player of the year? He is the best player in football right now -- bar none. Whether you like him or not, whether you respect him or not, you cannot question the guy's talent.
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You say, 'Oh, he was the defensive player of the year, but look what happened last year. Oh, he's the leader of the No. 1 defense ever, but look what happened last year.' But why can't we put that past us? He's been acquitted. He's been exonerated of all charges. ” |
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— Sharpe on Lewis |
"But that's not what you ask him about. You say, 'Oh, he was the defensive player of the year, but look what happened last year. Oh, he's the leader of the No. 1 defense ever, but look what happened last year.' But why can't we put that past us? He's been acquitted. He's been exonerated of all charges."
After Sharpe finished, he again briefly rubbed Lewis' shoulders and then walked away. As he left, the two exchanged brief glances, as if Lewis was saying, "Thanks."
"It's a good feeling to know that someone like that has got my back," Lewis said. "The thing is, what Shannon does is never for show. He speaks from the heart. And that means something."
Sharpe, who joined the Ravens in the offseason, has built a strong friendship with Lewis. On Tuesday night, the two played pool and table tennis in the team's hotel game room with cornerback Rod Woodson. Though Lewis refused to read any of the articles or watch any of the news reports about his quiet actions at media day, Sharpe said seeing endless reports continuously cast Lewis as a villain were too much for him to not speak up.
"I love him like I love my brother," he said. "Nobody knows him. No one ever talks to him. Nobody wants to defend Ray publicly, (but) they want to do so privately. I was aggravated with everything I had been reading, so I nominated myself for the job. There's no question it's important to be supportive of him."
On Monday, Billick went on a similar rampage, saying much of the Lewis coverage he had seen was tasteless. Some figured the topic would die down after Lewis all but ignored reporters' questions Tuesday, but Sharpe again brought the topic to the forefront and had little regret in doing so.
"It's something that's never going to go away or die, especially while we're here," said Sharpe, who advised Lewis not to talk about the murders and ensuing trial. "Ray knows it's something that he has to deal with so I wanted to support him."
Sharpe's support included defense of Lewis' off-field character.
"I'm glad I'm his teammate and I got an opportunity to know Lewis," Sharpe said. "Before this year, I just knew him at the Pro Bowl and that wasn't the same. But to know him and see him and spend time with him every day, that speaks volumes. I just wish people could get a chance to know him like I do."
Wayne Drehs is an ESPN.com staff writer.
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