<<<What other NFL "criminals" do is either to themselves, or another "not so innocent" human being.>>>
Are you sure about that Guitarzan?...I guess I'm just more of the forgiving type.
"Do You Forgive Leonard Little?
Tom MantzouranisPosted May 2nd 2008 12:40PM by Tom Mantzouranis
Filed under: Rams, NFC West, NFL Real Talk, NFL Police Blotter, St. Louis
For the past 10 years, I've hated Leonard Little. I've questioned why he was allowed to continue playing in the NFL. I've seen him as another (unprintable adjective) athlete who committed horror and got away with it. Sure enough, if it were Roger Goodell's NFL in 1998, he probably wouldn't be playing. Now, quite honestly, I'm not sure what I think.
Little has finally addressed for the first time what happened then, when he killed a woman while driving drunk, and the aftermath he's dealt with personally at a school in St. Louis.
"A few weeks later, I tried to kill myself," ... "I had gone back home to my mom's house outside Knoxville (Tenn.), and the first thing I did was just go down in her basement. It had no windows, just a bathroom, a sink and a television. I stayed in the dark for days. All I did was cry. I couldn't deal with what I'd done."
Little intentionally drives past the spot of the accident on the way to Edward Jones Dome to remind himself, and refuses to celebrate his birthday because it's also the anniversary of the worst day of his life ("What's there to celebrate? It's an annual reminder of what I did"). He tells the children at the school, "I killed someone and I constantly think about the hurt I caused that family. ... I made a bad decision, and it cost someone her life and ruined her family's lives. You don't want that burden on you."
This touches on two matters.
In a completely trivial way, this is a statement on Goodell's renegade style of discipline, the specter of which looms larger and larger over the NFL every day. By all means a productive member of society since (though he was acquitted of driving while intoxicated years later), Little is proof that for every Koren Robinson, Chris Henry, or Pacman Jones, there's someone who is capable of reclaiming virtue and using a horrible decision as a way to benefit others. For Goodell, throwing out the baby with the bathwater isn't a concern, but maybe it should be.
Far more meaningfully, this is about the concept of forgiveness. Some believe that when man admits to genuine guilt he should therefore be forgiven and admonished of that guilt. Others aren't so quick to turn the other cheek. As for me? I'm in the middle. As I said, I've hated Little for 10 years. What he did was horrible, and a family is forever shattered because of it. On the other hand, I think it's a credit to Little that he refuses to forgive himself or seek forgiveness from others. The punishment he's endured extends far beyond his 90-day stint in jail, and it's all self-imposed.
However you all feel on this incredibly divisive topic is well-informed by emotion, belief, and in some cases, sadly, personal experience. But by finally speaking from the heart, Little has made one thing abundantly clear -- Susan Gutweiler's family aren't the only ones waking up everyday with the unshakable feelings of heartache and pain. Leonard Little is guilty. Leonard Little is constantly blanketed with guilt."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Guitarzan-54  What other NFL "criminals" do is either to themselves, or another "not so innocent" human being.
What Michael Vick did to innocent animals is down right DESPICABLE.
Do I need to post pics again of these dogs after they've been forced to shred the sh*t out of each other again?
How about pics of the totally exhausted - completely physically depleted dog that VICK Body Slammed to the ground over and over until it's last breath was gone....just because it wasn't good enough to beat it's opponent....
....or didn't have the "heart" to beat it's opponent?
Or pics of those that were hung by the throat while Vick and his buddies partied and danced around it's last breath?
Or pics of those that they held under water and drowned?
How DESPERATE are we as fans, for a Quarterback, to even consider this piece of human dung on our deeply prided beloved BEARS?
If he ever comes out on our field....wearing our uniform, I would only hope that there was some deranged sniper in the stands ready to put a bullet in his forehead....and blow that helmet clean off his disgusting head.
A "second chance" at life?.....maybe.
A "second chance" in the NFL?.....NEVER!
I'll take Johnathan Quinn back over Michael Vick any day of the week.
....and certainly Brett Favre.
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