Posts Tagged ‘Rashard Mendenhall’

Donovan McNabb Hits Mark with Anti-Twitter Rant

Monday, June 27th, 2011

By Roy Burton

Former Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback Donovan McNabb is like that crazy ex-girlfriend who’ll never go away.

He’s like the kid who interrupts the spades game at the family reunion just to tell you that he made honor roll in the third marking period.

But during his latest plea for attention last week – a week in which he worked out with the Philadelphia Eagles and appeared in a video telling his doubters that he’ll no longer throw bounce passes like Bob Cousy – McNabb actually had a moment of clarity. 

On Thursday, McNabb appeared on ESPN Chicago’s “Waddle and Silvy” radio show and offered the following:  “First of all, I’m not a fan of tweeting; I’m not a fan of Twitter.  Nothing against their program or what they have, but as an athlete I think you need to get off of Twitter.”

In response to players who criticize their fellow athletes on the social networking site, McNabb said:  “I don’t believe that that’s the right deal… So I think for an athlete to be twittering is the wrong move. It’s one that leads to the fans and let them comment on certain things, but athletes need to get off Twitter.”

He’s absolutely right.

For most athletes, Twitter is a no-win situation.

Milwaukee Bucks’ forward Chris Douglas-Roberts (@cdouglasroberts) gains nothing by telling his followers about the linen shorts that he wears while relaxing on the Cayman Islands (shorts that happen to be embroidered with the self-granted nickname “Flyonel Ritchie”).  Sixers’ center Marreese Speights won’t gain any fans with his jokes about overweight women who frequent IHOP, nor with his repeated pleas of “Free Lil’ Boosie.”

No one will deny that the service gives athletes an unprecedented way to reach out to their fans.  Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) is only a laptop or a cell phone away from connecting with his 770,000-plus followers, whether it is to ask them for advice, or to promote one of his off-court initiatives.

The flip side is that Twitter also allows fans to communicate directly with their favorite (or not-so-favorite) players like never before.  Previously, if someone wanted to rip an athlete, they would have to either call their local sports talk radio station, scream unpleasantries from their seat at the game, or sit down and compose a letter which wouldn’t likely be read.

Now, fans can tag their player of choice and fire off 140 characters of vitriol, a rant almost guaranteed to be viewed by its intended target the next time he (or she) logs into the social networking site.

New York Mets’ catcher Josh Thole (@josh_thole) shut down his Twitter account in May (calling it a “lose-lose situation”) after he was hammered with criticism during a hitting slump.  Sixers’ swingman Andre Iguodala closed his account (@AI9) early last season – either he didn’t see the value in having it, or he wasn’t able to withstand the heat from Sixers’ fans that undoubtedly ripped him during the team’s 3-13 start.

It’s not all one-sided, however.  Athletes have been known to start the fire themselves. The NFL lockout probably saved Steelers’ RB Rashard Mendenhall (@R_Mendenhall) from a suspension after his Osama bin Laden-related Twitter screed.  LeBron James (@KingJames) caught heat for his infamous “Karma is a b****” tweet, and then was utterly destroyed after posting “Now or Never” prior to Game 5 of the NBA Finals, and then going out and scoring as many points that night as J.J. Barea.

For those in the public eye, social media can potentially be very dangerous, as former House Rep. Anthony Weiner (@RepWeiner) can personally attest to. But when understood and used correctly, it can also be a perfect way to engage with tens of thousands of people easily and effectively. In the sports world, however, we’ve seen far too many cases where athletes would have been better off if there was some sort of filter between them and their followers.

So while it may pain some Eagles fans to agree with him, McNabb is probably right.  Unfortunately, the majority of players will likely dismiss his advice and continue posting as they always have.  Hopefully, unlike former Rep. Weiner, they don’t get caught with their pants down.

Roy Burton of The Broad Street Line, for War Room Sports

Osama Bin Laden is Dead: The Rashard Mendenhall Tweets

Friday, May 6th, 2011

Rashard "Mendenhump"

This week, Pittsburgh Steelers Running Back Rashard “Mendenhump”…yeah…the guy that was caught having sex with Ben “Don’t say nothing just give it here” Roethlis-get-the-berger, went ahead and nobly, courageously, and with conviction, fell on his sword (pause) and signed the death warrant to his career by reaching into his heart with his mind (and his Twitter account) and pulling out these candid, profound, and incendiary words:

“What kind of person celebrates death?  It’s amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. We’ve only heard one side…”

We’ll never know what really happened. I just have a hard time believing a plane could take a skyscraper down demolition style.”

“For those of you who said you want to see Bin Laden burn in hell and piss on his ashes, I ask how would God feel about your heart?”

“There is not an ignorant bone in my body. I just encourage you to #think

Let me first say that while I agree with his candor and his right to free speech, (hell, I even agree with his sentiments) one must take a catalogue of the things one has to lose in the court of public opinion when using Twitter.  It’s not about whether or not what you’re saying makes sense.  It’s about the fact that 80% of the world are “blind, deaf, and dumb…and mostly intrigued by the drum”…so they will not use intellect or depth to analyze your words.  They will take them as far as their limited perspective and truncated intellect will allow, and then…KABOOM!…the “Twitterverse” does the rest, as you hang by your proverbial neck, by the cords of misinterpretation, knee jerk overreaction, self righteous ignorance, and prideful, unjust condemnation!  SO…think before you press “send” on that tweet…and if it’s worth it to you, then go for it, because I, like most of the minority who understood “Mendenhump’s” position, applaud him speaking out.  However, the dominos have already begun to fall, considering the latest reports of Rashard Mendenhall being dropped from his endorsement deal with Champion.  Alright…that’s enough about idiots, Twitter, and the court of public opinion.

On to the REAL matter at hand…

The “celebration of death”.  What has changed from the day prior to our president’s announcement?…NOT A DAMN THING!  A martyr has been created.  That is all.

And anyone who is a spiritual person, whether it’s from an “Abrahamic” religion such as Christianity, Islam, or Judaism…whether you read the Quran, the Torah, or the Bible…NOWHERE is it correct to hate…NOWHERE is it correct to spread terror…and NOWHERE is it correct to celebrate death.  The people of New York, DC, and America in general suffered through one of the most horrific, publicized incidents in history…but hasn’t there been enough death? 

And now…I’ll end this with a quote from my esteemed colleague and insightful co-host, Devin McMillan:

“To be COMPLETELY real with you all, this [the killing of Osama Bin Laden] is only ‘justice’ because this is what WE (Americans) deem it to be. Do you all know how many innocent civilians America has killed over the decades that we’ve occupied the Middle East?  I’m not defending these jackasses, but things like 9/11 don’t happen just because someone woke up angry one day and picked America out of a hat.  So they retaliate against decades of us killing their innocent people in the name of ‘democracy’, but when they do indeed retaliate on our soil or anywhere else in the world (which is also wrong), we deem them ‘terrorist’, because it isn’t carried out by a government or government forces.  Those guys aren’t anything more or less than militia groups and JUST LIKE US when the roles are reversed, they deem these acts as ‘JUSTICE’ for shit we’ve been doing to them for YEARS. I GUARANTEE you all that our civilian body count in the Middle East DWARFS that of what they accomplished here on 9/11. EVERYBODY is wrong in this situation…America, Al Qaeda, EVERYBODY.  And if you call yourself a Christian, Muslim, or ANYTHING else, it is plain wrong to celebrate someone’s murder…no matter how you slice it…PERIOD!”

B. Austin aka Stokley Brad Michael aka Bradlege Cleaver aka BFK aka Al-Hajj Malik Al Shabbazz aka The Educated Brother from the Bank of The War Room, for War Room Sports

Big Ben Gets Violated!

Monday, January 24th, 2011

We live in a world where every move you make can be seen by millions faster than you can say “Big Ben Touched Me Inappropriately”. With that being said WTF is wrong with the Steelers Running Back Rashard Mendenhall!! If you don’t know what I am talking about watch the clip below…

After the Pittsburgh Steelers clinched the Lamar Hunt Trophy and a trip to the Super Bowl he was so excited he decided to treat Big Ben like he was a young lady in a bathroom stall. I am not homophobic but when I am watching the AFC Championship I don’t want to see Big Ben get his man hymen broken. This should be investigated the same way the Janet Jackson incident was. Not just because it was an egregious act on behalf of the Princess Boy Mendenhall but because it would force Big Ben to watch himself get man raped over and over and over again…

-Jimmy of The War Room a.k.a. “The Blueprint” a.k.a. “The One Man Wolfpack”