Calling for his head in St. Pete....
Bucs, isn't it (past) time to cut Pittman?
By GARY SHELTON, Times Sports Columnist
© St. Petersburg Times
published June 2, 2003
In the wake of violence, there are questions to be asked. In the aftermath of rage, there are answers to be sought.
In the matter of Michael Pittman, however, this is what you keep coming back to:
Why is this guy still a Buc?
Let everyone else unravel the details. Let the law worry about jail time, and let the league worry about suspension time. Let someone else sort through the excuses and the explanations. Around here, there is a simpler question:
Why is this guy still employed?
It has been hours now since news of the latest arrest of Pittman has reached the offices of One Buc Place. There has been plenty of time to release Pittman and launch the search for a replacement. Doesn't Jon Gruden get to work about 3:17 a.m.? Why then, did Pittman last past 3:30?
After all, this is Pittman's third strike. According to Phoenix police, an enraged Pittman rammed his Hummer into a Mercedes containing his wife, Melissa; his 2-year-old son, Mycah; and the family's 18-year-old babysitter. Pittman, who was arrested and charged in 2001 and in 1997 in domestic violence incidents, faces a possible six felony counts for Saturday's incident.
How many, exactly, are the Bucs waiting for?
How can any team tolerate this? How can it try to spin things to say that, hey, it's just waiting for due process and all? How can it assure its fans that when it talks about standards, it isn't just making noise.
Answer: This time, it can't.
The next few days are going to be crucial for the Bucs, a team that has dealt with its troubles this offseason by saying no comment until the questions went away. This time, people are watching.
If the Bucs don't release Pittman, what they're saying to their players is this: keep getting first downs, and we don't care what your legal problems are.
It is one thing to talk about how much you oppose domestic violence when it happens to another player on another team a thousand miles away, or when it is an untalented free agent who stands accused. The less it threatens a team, the easier it is to get to the high morale ground.
But when the player involved is the starting tailback, who is coming off a great game in a Super Bowl victory, who doesn't have a proven backup, is a team willing to stand for less?
We'll see.
It comes to this. A sports team has to stand for something grander than its won-loss record. It has to represent higher standards and greater goals. That's why so many fans have bonded with players such as Derrick Brooks, John Lynch and Ronde Barber over the years.
If an organization is going to say such players stand for it, however, it cannot stand for those who have a history of meltdowns such as Pittman's. You cannot bask in the glow of the good graces of some players and act as if the misdeeds of others have no affect.
When the Bucs signed Pittman last year, they swore they had done their background work, and they were comfortable in giving Pittman a chance. Ask yourself: After this, does Pittman deserve another one?
No, it wouldn't be easy to find another back in June, not even one as good as the exceedingly average Pittman. For most of last season, Pittman was a disappointment, an erect running back who lacked vision and instincts. One scout suggested that whenever he saw Pittman run the Mexican Hat Dance tune ran through his head.
Still, Pittman gained 124 yards in Super Bowl XXXVII, and there is no one else who looks like an every-down tailback on the roster. Not a lot of teams drafted running backs high this year, which means not a lot of teams are throwing backs away this June. The best names on the block appear to be Ron Dayne and Thomas Jones.
Certain things, however, are intolerable. The Bucs will manage with or without Pittman. Make a trade. Start Aaron Stecker. Unleash Travis Stephens. Something.
It's sad. Pittman is one of those players who makes you expect more of him. You see the swollen muscles and you want to believe he's a great back waiting to happen. You hear his soft voice and you want to believe him when he says prior police reports don't tell the true story of what happened.
So what happened this time, Mike? Did you bump fenders going for the same parking place? Were you trying to drum up business for the poor fellows at Maaco? What?
This is the third time Pittman has been arrested on domestic violence charges, however, and there was the 1994 report in college at Fresno State that he had a physical altercation with a woman, though no charges were filed. After a while, are we to believe that everyone else is making stuff up? That everyone is out to get Pittman?
Today, a lot of people are asking questions. That's our nature. We see an unreasonable act, and we want a reasonable explanation. We try to make sense out of a situation where none is available.
What leads a man to this kind of rage? How badly does someone have to lose it before he would ram his car into one that contained his wife and son? How afraid must his child have been? And how long before it all happens again?
Let other people find the answers. Let the law do what it should, and let the league do what it must.
For the Bucs, however, there is only one answer.
Cut him.
http://www.sptimes.com/2003/06/02/Columns/Bucs__isn_t_it_past_t.shtml
Crashing a Humvee into a car with innocent people inside. "Whoa man", this guy needs a lot of help. Jail time and lots of anger management control for starters, or this will get a lot worse!
