Vontaze Burfict might be the most hated player in football from the perspective of the NFL, but Myles Garrett might be the more deserving party in light of the events of the last week.
Not only did Garrett swing a helmet at a player’s unprotected head, but on Thursday it was reported that he accused Mason Rudolph (in his appeal to the NFL) of directing a racial slur at him. Say what you will about Burfict and his dangerous hits, but he never stooped to the level of trying to ruin another man’s reputation to salvage his season.
No one else is saying they heard a racial slur from Rudolph and Garrett’s teammates have made no mention of a racial slur initiating the incident. Garrett was asked after the game what caused him to lose control and in the days since last Thursday’s game he has never offered more than an apology – until now.
If Rudolph said something egregious, why would Garrett sit and take the heat alone for a full week? It’s not like silence would have been the more noble course of action in this case. Furthermore, wouldn’t he have told a teammate or someone before now?
As Rudolph’s agent pointed out, Garrett’s racially-charged accusations against Rudolph were far more dangerous to Rudolph than the hit to the head. If it could be proven (which it cannot) that Rudolph didn’t utter a racial slur, the penalty for making a false accusation of this magnitude should be greater than the penalty for any altercations on the field last week.
Meanwhile, Burfict was removed from football for tackling with his head down.
For what it’s worth, if Garrett could prove that a racial slur was hurled at him, by all means he is justified in saying it happened. But the timing of his accusation and the fact that he is saying he kept the information locked away for a week is incredibly suspicious. There would be no reason to keep the information to himself and Rudolph would deserve the public knowing what he said.
But everyone knows it can’t possibly be a lie if you believe it. With a long week to think about his actions, Garrett is probably starting to believe it.
twitter: @raidersbeat
