NFL star Running Back Rashard Mendenhall has generated a lot of attention with his recent comments concerning Osama Bin Laden’s death.
The Pittsburgh Steelers running back tweeted, among other things:
“What kind of person celebrates death? It’s amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. We’ve only heard one side…”
Responding to a University of Illinois basketball player Dominique Keller, Mendenhall also implied a 9/11 conspiracy theory by stating,
“I just have a hard time believing a plane could take a skyscraper down demolition style.”
The Steelers have moved quickly to distance themselves from Mendenhall’s comments by posting a statement to their website. President Art Rooney II writes,
“I have not spoken with Rashard so it is hard to explain or even comprehend what he meant with his recent Twitter comments. The entire Steelers’ organization is very proud of the job our military personnel have done and we can only hope this leads to our troops coming home soon.”
As of now, Mendenhall has not been punished, and has not released a statement that counters his twitter thoughts and opinions, but tweeted comments have been punished in the NFL before.
Former Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson was suspended for a game (which cost him $213,000) and released by his team following a gay slur made on Twitter.
