Sports

rocktivity

(44,577 posts) Tue Feb 23, 2016, 07:37 PM Feb 2016

Jacksonville Jaguars' Dante Fowler One-Ups Ray Rice AND Michael Vick

Last edited Fri Feb 26, 2016, 08:38 AM - Edit history (8)

TMZ: NFL star Dante Fowler -- the 3rd pick in the '15 Draft -- played the role of referee as the mother of his child brawled with another woman at a Florida apartment complex...

It all went down on February 1st around 10 PM when 21-year-old Fowler arrived to the complex with a woman believed to be his girlfriend...Fowler's baby mama...confronted (them)...in front of an elevator. Fowler gets between the two women -- but instead of breaking it up, he steps back and uses his arm to signal for the fight to begin.

Once Fowler decides he's seen enough, he grabs his baby mama and (pushes) her off...He then hits the elevator button and leaves with the other woman...

SportingNews.com: ...No police were called to the scene and no reports were filed, according to the report...The situation that led to the fight is unknown, and while Fowler was not directly involved in the physical altercation, the video will more than likely make its way to NFL league offices. Both Fowler and the Jaguars organization were quick to release statements...

Fowler: "I am embarrassed and have apologized for my actions to everyone involved. As a family, we have been dealing with this moment and the conflict that led to it since this occurred. The video surfacing is a sad reminder that emotions got the best of all of us. I take 100 percent responsibility for everything that happened."

Jaguars: "Dante brought the incident to our attention prior to the video being released and was embarrassed and remorseful. Violence of this type against others is unacceptable in our society and to our organization. We will continue to look into the incident while offering resources and providing support to Dante and his family to help them through this private matter."

Well, I can think of a reason why Fowler didn't stop the fight -- he missed all of last season due to a knee injury and was worried about re-aggravating it. If he didn't earn his full salary, it would explain why TMZ outbid him for the video. But seriously, folks, while Fowler isn't one of the combatants, he is clearly directly involved in instigating and enjoying the fight. Isn't this WORSE than Ray Rice-Gate, since it has a whiff of Michael Vick-Gate thrown in?

Even if Fowler's behavior is not illegal technically, it is surely unacceptable socially and detrimental to the NFL. He says his emotions got the better of him? Encouraging his companion (a steady girlfriend? A casual date?) and the mother of his child (Jealous? Being cheated on?) to settle their differences physically is a symptom of being emotionally deficient -- or did he do it because it turned him on? I'll make the same suggestion I did about Manti T'eo-Gate: the Jaguars shouldn't take Fowler back until he's passed a complete psychological evaluation.