Former NFL star Ray Lewis, no stranger to controversy, has raised some eyebrows with televised comments he made about the Ray Rice scandal.
Lewis, who played with Rice on the Baltimore Ravens for five seasons until Lewis’ retirement in 2013, spoke on ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown about a recent report that Ravens brass knew Rice beat now-wife Janay Palmer and that the team lobbied the NFL to give the running back a lenient penalty.
“Some things you can cover up, and then there’s some things you can’t,” said Lewis, now an ESPN analyst. “Right now is a sad day for me because the reputation that I left in this organization, this isn’t it.”
Lewis defended Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome and owner Steve Bisciotti, both of whom he said he has known closely for many years. Lewis said he was a “little bit offended” that Newsome’s integrity was being questioned.
Lewis’ comment about covering up a crime is a surprising choice of words. Lewis, a two-time Super Bowl champion, pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice following a 2000 incident in which two men were stabbed to death. Lewis was fined $250,000 by the league for the plea.
Lewis’ comments can be seen below:
Read more: Ray Rice Defense — Videotape Was Cleaned Up and Edited
Email: Ryan.Gajewski@pgmedia.org
Twitter: @_RyanGajewski
