Mason Rudolph And Myles Garrett Continue The Fight
Ugh so this stupid thing won’t die and has now turned into a he said/he said fight about whether or not Rudolph called Garrett a slur. Presumably the slur we all think he used. Though it would be kind of hilarious if Garrett said Rudolph called him, say, a slur aimed at Asian people.
It’s kind of a pointless debate because as far as I can tell it’s impossible to prove either way. It also feels like it can be true either way. My opinion? Mason probably didn’t say it, but Garrett could have certainly have heard it and I 100% believe that Mason lied when he said he has never used the N-word. He has 100% used the n-word. Look at him. You think he didn’t blast 50 cent from his pristine clean ford f-150 driving around the suburbs with his high school buds? I’ve never looked at a man and been so certain of such a thing in my life. His extremely strong statement to the opposite felt like confirmation.
But I don’t know if he said it in this particular instance, and I don’t think we’ll ever know for sure unless one side comes out and confirms the other. I think there is a chance Garrett might have heard it, but the two of them were scuffling on the ground, fighting, yelling…you don’t really hear things perfectly in those situations. It might have been said and got lost in the noise, or it might have just been noise that reached Garrett sounding a particular way. Neither side has a definitive argument. Let’s break down those arguments because OFFSEASON and I need to keep putting off giving a shit about the XFL.
Argument – Why didn’t he bring up the slur thing sooner? Why did it only become his defense later and not the first thing he said?
Counter-Argument – The fight happened at the very end of the game and Garrett was shuffled off and didn’t get a chance to make a counter statement for a bit, and he does claim he brought it up to the Browns and was going to go to the NFL about it, but the story leaked. This is frankly the strongest argument against Garrett’s side and probably the reason I’m personally most skeptical. However, the reasons Garrett gives for not taking the incident public immediately, whether you personally believe he’s telling the truth or not, seem reasonably plausible to me. He is right that if he used the “he said a slur” argument immediately people would have said he was making an excuse, but when the story leaked, it looked like he was making an excuse anyway. Once it leaked, everything went kind of out the window.
Argument – Why didn’t any of the sideline mics pick up the slur? Wouldn’t the NFL have footage of this?
Counter-Argument – I don’t think the sideline microphones are as good at picking up that stuff as people seem to think. Most quality audio you see get picked up is by players with literal attached microphones or things specifically happening near the sideline. The fight happened in the middle of the field, away from the action of the play. On top of that, we don’t know how loud Mason would have said it, if he did. It could have been muddled and just sound like yelling/banter to a sideline mic also picking up plenty of other noise. You can’t see their mouths for the first half of the fight thanks to the helmets so lip-reading is out. Lastly, if the tape does exist, it is always possible the NFL does not want that audio out there. I have a very real belief that most audio the NFL gets from games is filled with swearing and vile language of all sorts, including slurs. They probably have to edit those mic’d up videos quite a bit to find clean air. If that audio comes out it makes everyone look bad and the NFL doesn’t want that. Just check out what sneaks through from time to time! Also take note of the sound guy there – he’s 5 feet away from Gabbert with zero other players around to muddle the audio, and it still isn’t quite perfectly clear. I’m guessing a normal football game has upwards of 20 individual instances of just Motherfucker. Who knows what else.
Argument – Why would the Steelers defend a player who used the N-word?
Counter-Argument – (I got this argument a couple times when I joked about it on twitter and I don’t know why). It’s not a good look to find out your team has a slur-user on the roster and he’s the QB of all positions. Football teams are a fraternity, the Steelers are gonna protect their guy even if he did use a slur the same way Pouncey went to pound town after the helmet strike. The Steelers have no real incentive to throw Mason to the dogs here because there isn’t any public evidence that he said it and Mason more or less got away with starting the fight so they have more to lose. Again, also, even if it was said, there remains the very distinct possibility that no one else heard it due to the timing or surrounding noise. It was an important Browns home game when the Browns were winning against a hated rival, the crowd was loud.
Whatever the case is, both of them still acted like jerks and I just can’t wait till this gets brought up again for the two matchups this season. That won’t be irritating at all!
The reason that the XFL has some appeal to me; despite the fact I was a SAINT LOUIS RAMS fan for very many terrible years, is that the OFFICIAL REPLAY BOOTH has audio attached to it. I don’t care if they make up the audio, it sounds real, as though there is some transparency as to why they rule the way they do.
The NFL, through all it’s ridiculous billions of dollars has not implemented that, BECAUSE THEY WANT NO TRANSPARENCY.
Conspiracy, yes, I know. But I had seen my Rams stomped time and again against the dragons who want them crushed. I was done.
Related: If the NFLPA saw a safety issue, it’s agreed on by ALL THE PLAYERS! If a coach tells you to tear a guy’s knee, you say No. If a coach tells you to headhunt, YOU SAY NO! If a coach tells you to INCAPACITATE A PLAYER FOREVER! you say no. The NFLPA is not on the side of the players. HOT TAEK!
My bet is that Garrett heard it but it came from an O-line player.
Plausible. Also possible Mason was trying to say, Knicks, but switched to Lakers halfway through. Knakers is easy to confuse with a racial slur
Only it’s not “he said / he said”. It’s the word of Garrett vs the word of Rudolph, Tomlin, the Steelers, the Browns (who had their chance to speak up during the investigation), the NFL investigation team (incompetent or not), and the players who have remained silent. It’s less 50/50 and more like 90/10 in favor of Rudolph NOT saying it.
I can’t say whether Garrett actually thinks he heard something or not, but I am 100% of the opinion that he feels ZERO remorse about it. NONE. Watch the OTL interview from over the weekend. He is LITERALLY smiling AS he says bashing Rudolph over the head was a bad move. Check it out: https://youtu.be/ljv6KYA4olE?t=201
Garrett is doing his best Trump impersonation throughout this. “We shouldn’t be talking about how close I came to killing this man by bludgeoning him. We should be talking about what I claim to have heard.”
Despite bringing up Trump in something that has nothing to do with him I agree. Everyone else has said they didn’t hear the slur. Everything, including his behavior and the timing of everything, seems that Garrett is just trying to excuse his behavior.
I’m gonna take the path here that Myles won’t and genuinely apologize – your criticism is correct, sir. It irks me that so many people like to copycat Trump’s behavior, but in retrospect, mentioning that undermines and distracts from my argument. I should have dropped the proverbial helmet and removed his name before posting.
…ssssaaaaaaay, is it too late to spin like Garrett is trying to and say I put it in there intentionally to prove a point? 😉
It’s absolutely “he said/he said”, because no one other than Garrett and Rudolph know exactly what happened. Just because Tomlin and the Steelers believe Rudolph doesn’t really mean anything. What else do you expect them to say?
To me, it doesn’t really matter if anything was said or not. Rudolph instigated the incident by trying to rip Garrett’s helment off, and by sticking his cleat in Garrett’s groin. Garrett then rips Rudolph’s helmet off in retaliation. I don’t think swinging the helment at Rudolph was in any way premeditated, he’s just using his free hand to throw a shot at him. That said, it’s unbelievably stupid, and I think Garrett got the punishment he deserved. I also think Rudolph was pretty lucky to get away with just a fine. I think if you just looked at his behaviour in a vacuum, he would have received a ban of some sort. It’s just that the ensuing melee ends up taking over the whole thing.
So basically, I can kind of understand Garrett’s behaviour (and Rudolph’s, as he’s obviously riled up by what he perceives to be a late hit) without him needing the excuse of a racial slur. It’s an overreaction (by both parties), sure, but it would be an overreaction regardless of what Rudolph said to him.
Since Garrett’s ban is now lifted, he should just shut up about it now. Anyone who wants to believe Rudolph said something will believe that already, and anyone who doesn’t want to believe it is unlikely to change their mind. Since there isn’t any evidence either way, there’s not much point in discussing it any further.
I mostly agree with what you’re saying, other than the ‘he said/he said’ bit.
I’m not a lawyer, so I could be butchering this, but the burden of proof is on Garrett. Only ONE person has spoken up publicly for him making the claim the night of, and it took almost 4 months for that person to speak up. An investigation was conducted, nothing was found. Whether evidence CAN be found is kind of irrelevant. Garrett is responsible to prove the claim, and what WAS found is in Rudolph’s favor. Ergo, it is NOT he said / he said. If Garrett has no evidence or no means of getting evidence, then we must assume it was not said, and in a court of law I’m guessing this wouldn’t even make it past the front door. Because the onus is on HIM to prove his claim. And if he can’t? Too bad, so sad.
But yea, they’re both @#&$*. The exception being I’m absolutely appalled at how LITTLE contrition Garrett is showing. I thought he was an @#$@& after it happened. But seeing him laughing and smiling about it? And continuing to try to justify what he did? I’m afraid this isn’t the last time we’re going to be discussing this nutjob going psycho. If I was the commissioner, I would give him another 6 game ban for being an unrepentant @#$*&.
A court of law is a different thing though. In that case, if you can’t prove something did happen, you have to assume it didn’t . You have to be 100% sure it did, otherwise you consider yourself 100% sure it didn’t. The real world doesn’t have to be like that though, but the onus is certainly on Garrett to prove it, I agree with you there.
Honestly, I don’t really care too much about Garrett seeming genuinely repentant or not. He certainly seemed so at the time, although he may not have really meant it. However, Rudolph played a huge part in it kicking off, and he’s been playing this smug, holier than thou victim role ever since. If I’m annoyed by anyone’s behaviour in the aftermath, it’s his!
I think in a case like this it’s fair to treat the court of public opinion similarly to a court of law, but I’ll concede that not everyone rolls like that. So I’ll give you a 75/25 split, but not 50/50. 😉
My opinion at this stage is Garrett said everything required of him in order to get cleared by the league to return, but it was all just lip service. Now he can let his real feelings out – that the whole thing was hilarious and he regrets nothing. I could be wrong, but man, his face from that OTL interview tells me everything I need to know.
I’m with you on Rudolph, though. If Garrett had kept his cool and didn’t retaliate, Mason would be the main villain, here.
“two dudes yelling” would be apropos
“Also take note of the sound guy there – he’s 5 feet away from Gabbert …”
I’d imagine Blane Gabbert was a lot more than 5 feet away considering he was placed on injured reserve by the Bucs in September.
Mate, the video was from 2011. That’s the October 30th, 2011 game between the Jags and Texans when Gabbert could start.
I fully believe the NFL has clear audio, but it’s never gonna come out, if it hasn’t been destroyed already. The NFL has three possible outcomes in this situation: (1) confirm Garrett’s story and not only make a QB (even a scrub QB is a QB) on a marquee team look like a racist, but also birth 10,000 think pieces on WHAT’S WRONG WITH THE NFL WHY WON’T SOMEONE THINK OF THE CHILDREN that will keep the story in the public eye for longer; (2) refute Garrett’s story and turn one of the most likable star players, who has a reputation as a big cuddly nerd with a good sense of humor that just happens to be a genetic freak, into a liar and a pariah; or (3) say they don’t know, bury the evidence, and hope it blows over quickly. They chose the third tack, because it’s the one that best protects the shield and has a history of working.
I don’t know if Rudolph or anyone actually said something, but I do believe Garrett at least heard something because he alluded to Rudolph saying something in the postgame interview, and his personality is such that he would want to keep it quiet unless he had to. According to him and the Browns, he told them and the league confidentially, and reported it in his deposition, which was conducted under oath and supposed to be confidential except that it got leaked. Regardless of what I think of a person, I will generally assume they won’t commit perjury, no matter what they might say or withhold when not under oath.
No word, phrase, or string of phrases – regardless of how disgusting – can even remotely justify his actions. There is no “Ah, NOW I understand why Garrett attempted to murder someone on the football field!” moment here. He bludgeoned his ‘likable cuddly nerd’ reputation with his own hand. And myssssteeeeerious cover up or not, the blame for the fallout hangs 100% on his shoulders. If he wants to make this go away, he needs to start showing actual remorse and stop this infantile attempt at justifying himself based on what a moron qb may or may not have said.
+1
I didn’t justify anything. Thanks for not reading what I wrote and making a pretty strong assumption.
Then I must be misinterpreting what you’re saying. I just reread your comment and I stand by my reply.
Where am I justifying Garrett’s actions? I said I believe the NFL has clear audio but won’t release it because it’s against their interests to do so and I said I believe Garrett believes he heard what he says he heard, even if no one actually said it. Neither of those statements justify bashing Rudolph over the head with his own helmet.
Here’s my thinking. Note, I’m not saying this is what you *intended*, it’s merely how I *interpreted* you:
“…turn one of the most likable star players, who has a reputation as a big cuddly nerd with a good sense of humor”
This is the keystone. If he still has a rep as a big cuddly nerd with a sense of humor to turn, I can ONLY presume you don’t think bludgeoning a player over the head with a helmet is a big deal. Normally, that sort of attempted murder doesn’t leave people with a “cuddly teddy bear” kinda vibe.
You don’t mention the helmet bash once, instead focusing on the 100% irrelevant point of whether he heard anything, painting Garrett as the potential victim here. You think the NFL has the audio, and 2 of their 3 options involve screwing him over – making him the victim of a cover-up. You say you think he really heard something. You imply he has character and would have “[kept] it quiet unless he had to”.
All these things – to me – paint Garrett as the victim here. The implication being, he really thinks he heard Rudolph say something, and *THAT* is why he did what he did. You don’t acknowledge the option of him pulling all of this out of his @$$ to avoid becoming Vontaze Burfect II. Hence, my comment on your justifying the behavior and how 90% of what you’re talking about is irrelevant to the initial fact – that no words can justify bashing another human being over the head with a blunt object. Ultimately, NONE of what you’re theorizing on makes one iota of difference to what Garrett did.
If I’ve mischaracterized your words, then I apologize. I don’t think my read is particularly out of left field, but if so, I’ll walk it back.
I considered putting in a statement that I wasn’t in any way justifying or condoning what he did, but I thought my post was long enough already and didn’t think I needed to state the obvious point that there is no room for attacking an opponent with a weapon in any sport, no matter the provocation.
He deserved the punishment he got, with the exception that there was no valid reason to make the suspension indefinite other than to force him to grovel to Roger Goodell. They could have suspended him the remainder of the season plus the playoffs, with a reinstatement condition that he do the counseling and community service he had to do. The meeting with Goodell was entirely to satisfy Goodell’s ego.
After seeing so many pundits and sports commentators spend hours justifying Garrett’s original actions if the accusation was legit, I presumed the worst when you referred to Garrett as a cuddly nerd. Glad to hear you don’t condone the original actions, and I can understand your logic behind not caveating the statement with more copy. I myself am a verbose windbag, so I empathize with wanting to be succinct. 😉
I’d love to have them record all player meetings with the Commish and putting them on the internet for all of us to enjoy, so we could see how they’re handled with more transparency. But I’m guessing that won’t happen. Maybe AB will secretly live stream it when his day comes? XD
Nah if they had audio of him saying it they absolutely would have blasted him out of the league. It would be a super easy way to basically end the nfl is racist push Kaep fans have been going for. Blasting a white qb out of the league from one of the historic franchises the nfl would be stupid not to do it.
You know Dave, the Indoor Football League season starts in only 17 days when the Cedar Rapids River Kings host the Quad City Steamwheelers at 8pm EST on YouTube.
My gut feeling is that Rudolph, whether he said it or not, is stupid for charging a man bigger and stronger than him after having his helmet ripped off. He did so while having some of his “friends” trying to separate them. He did so while seeing Garrett still holding his helmet like a whack a mole hammer. Conclusion: Mason Rudolph obviously had some head issues before he even got bonked with his own helmet.
Mason was going crazy and yelling everything. I don’t think he was in his right mind and has any idea of what he said. He looked like someone who blacked out and was yelling like a mad man.
That is one reason I enjoyed the XFL last weekend. Middle of the game and you don’t know who says it but someone clearly yells, “Get back in the fucking huddle.”
Hey, Dave, it’s me the XFL. Just wondering why you won’t return my calls or texts, been a few weeks now and I’m starting to get worried. I’m pretty serious about this, are you? Lmk asap <3
That flat head, though
Watching the Pat McAfee show, they were talking about a couple of arguments that weren’t mentioned by you. One of them was that there were no Browns players coming to Garrett’s defense about the slur (a statement I can’t personally confirm) and most of them were simply just saying things along the lines of “this isn’t the Myles we know” and that jazz. The other argument is how fast Mike Tomlin came to Rudolph’s defense about it. Tomlin is not a media dude (this I can personally confirm) so the fact that he went out of his way to make sure people knew about his stance on the subject is pretty convincing. Either way I still think this entire situation should just be buried already. No reason arguing over pure accusations. Plus, there’s other sports scandals that are a lot more juicier than a dude allegedly using the n word and another dude bashing him with a football helmet
Please tell me you’re gonna do something with Greg Robinson pulling a Nate Newton.
In case you were wondering just how much 157lbs of weed is, this article has some pictures of 130lbs of the green stuff.
https://www.wral.com/discovery-of-130-pounds-of-marijuana-during-orange-country-traffic-stop-puts-2-in-the-joint/16994730/
It depends if it’s loose or bricked, but when I was a prosecutor I saw 4 oz. of loose weed take up an entire gallon freezer bag, and compressed kilos were roughly the size of a masonry brick, so 157 pounds is a lot of weed.
This is what really happened.
Ben Roethlisberger had an offensive mic that was connected to Rudolph’s Helmet – That’s a fact. Watching the game we saw that.
Myles Garrett pulled off Rudolphs Helmet and had it in his hand.
Ben Roethlisberger is a scumbag.
He probably yelled all sorts of profanities during the play into the helmet
Garrett took the racist helmet and, trying to get rid of the slurs, decided to destroy the helmet against Rudolphs head.
Conclusion – Its all Ben Roethlisberger’s fault. Also this theory would have made a great comic.
Even if mason did say a slur how is everyone gonna act like that somehow justifies bashing someone over the head with a helmet. Myles should be permanently banned from all NFL activities
You wouldn’t have this issue in the XFL with everything so mic’ed up. And it’s always funny when someone gets a ‘fuck’ off before the delay can catch it
Funny thing is I was actually on Myles Garrett’s side until he tried to pull a Juicy Smollett on Randolph. Randolph was dumb to keep going after Garrett even after his helmet was ripped off. I’m not going to be sanctimonious and act like I think there’s much of a chance Randolph said it though, and I don’t think it matters even if he said it. If Garrett wasn’t full of shit he wouldn’t have apologized right afterwards and waited a week to throw out the accusation, but he did so you know he’s full of shit
He didn’t apologize right away. The first thing he said, at his locker after the game, was that he knew what he heard, but he didn’t elaborate further. Mina Kimes inferred from that statement that there was a racial issue that Garrett was keeping confidential at that point.
Rudolph called Garrett a weeaboo and he snapped.
How to pass time while drinking in the offseason:
When the ESPN scroll shows injury updates in the form of “Name (injury)”, make them hyphenates instead and pronounce them like they’re British royalty. It’s rawther amusing!
Just ask Damian Lillard-Groin or my fave, Mike Evans-Hamstring.
Or Marvin Bagley-Foot III, who just popped up now. I realllllly need to go to bed now….
Hopefully Jarvis Landry-Hip and Odell Beckham-Hip get their names shortened by May.