Trill Clinton
09-19-2014, 11:47 AM
Brandon Marshall addresses history of domestic violence (http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-brandon-marshall-talks-nfl-domestic-abuse-20140918-story.html)
Chicago Bears receiver Brandon Marshall met with the media Thursday at Halas Hall and had plenty to say about domestic violence, media coverage, his past and his progress.
It has been an eventful week for Marshall. On Sunday, he battled through an ankle injury (http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-bears-receivers-side-spt-0915-20140915-story.html) to catch three touchdown passes in the Bears’ 28-20 come-from-behind win over the 49ers.
On Tuesday, he fired Twitter shots at ESPN (http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/chi-brandon-marshall-espn-20140917-htmlstory.html%20) after the network unearthed a two-year-old profile of him on “E:60,” sprinkling in minor updates to a story that detailed the receiver’s troubled past and experiences with domestic abuse as well as his steps toward reform.
Then Wednesday, Marshall’s abusive relationship with former girlfriend Rasheedah Watley was pushed back into the spotlight (http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/chi-brandon-marshall-nfl-domestic-abuse-allegations-20140917-story.html)in an odd news conference in Atlanta where prominent lawyer Gloria Allred was joined by Watley’s father, Clarence, and close friend Kristeena Spivey.
Together, that trio spoke to the violence and abuse in Marshall’s past as a means of criticizing the NFL for what Allred asserted were shoddy league practices in investigating such cases of abuse and violence from players.
Here are a few of the most notable things the Bears receiver had to say at the podium Thursday:
On the controversies that have embroiled the NFL in recent months:
“My view on the NFL and this current climate that we’re in, I think it’s a shame. But I do love and respect what we’re doing. Because the NFL, as we all know, has the ability to transform lives, to transform communities. We have influence. We have influence to really shape and mold a culture. So these issues, whether we’re wearing lime green on the field or pink or orange, whatever, I think that is sweet. I love it. Because the amount of awareness and the amount of influence that we have can really dictate a lot.”
On why he was so upset with ESPN after Tuesday’s re-airing of his “E:60” profile that detailed his past with domestic violence:
http://www.trbimg.com/img-541a2f23/turbine/chi-brandon-marshall-nfl-domestic-abuse-allegations-20140917/300/300x169 (http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/chi-brandon-marshall-nfl-domestic-abuse-allegations-20140917-story.html)
“That takes me to why I was so upset with ESPN. And this is tough. This is a really tough one for me. It’s really tough because in situations like this, you’re not going to hear people defending themselves. There are just certain things where if you get defensive, if you speak your mind, you’re going to be judged and you’re going to make yourself look even worse. And for six and seven years, I’ve sat back and accepted my part in everything that I’ve done, everything that I’ve been a part of. And I’ve listened to representatives say, 'Listen, you can’t win this one.' And you can’t. There’s no need to try to win it. But I refuse to sit back and continue to let ESPN or any other network or outlet exploit my story. Because they don’t know the real story.
"ESPN really does know the story. Because they were sent packets with both sides of it. And that’s what is so upsetting. When someone can sit in my living room and look at me and my wife in the eyes and say, 'Listen, this story is about what you’re doing today. The mentorship.' Or this is about your camp, this is about your community weekend. And then they use our story and they sensationalize it to sell magazines or to get better ratings. It’s time that stops.”
On how the court of public opinion needs to slow down:
“I just think that we need to get all the details. It doesn’t matter if it takes a day or if it takes a month. We need to get all the details before we can play judge and jury. Because there are two sides to a story. And there are some thing that we don’t know. And there are times where networks or ESPN will sensationalize a story to get their ratings up or to sell magazines.”
On his experiences with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell:
“I had a conversation with Goodell in February at the Super Bowl. And I was wanting to use the NFL’s platform to push my agenda, to push my cause. And we set up a meeting and we didn’t get to that until June or July. But when we sat down and met, it was interesting because there were probably 10 people in the room. And we were talking about systems and programs and how we can help our guys and how we can implement different things. And what did I do to change my life?
"And at the end, after four hours of sitting there with them and talking about all these cases, he kicked everybody out of the room and it was just me, him, Troy Vincent and a clinician. And (Goodell) had tears in his eyes. And he said, 'How can I help Josh Gordon? How can I help Davone Bess? How can I help these guys? And we have this Ray Rice situation.' And he really was concerned. He really cared. And that’s when I really gained a lot of respect for him. Because a lot of times we think of that as damage control. Or we’re trying to do this to protect the shield. But I gained so much respect for Goodell. Even after everything.
"I met with the man twice (for past conduct issues) and it wasn’t pretty. This time it was great. And I really appreciated that. Because he cared about the guys, he cared about the community. And he kept asking me, ‘What is the call to action? What is the call to action?’ And I’m like, 'Man, the call to action is just to talk about it. We just need to create healthy conversation.'"
On his reaction to Gloria Allred's Wednesday news conference in Atlanta:
"I would love to see how much money she donated to some of these causes. Because she has a powerful voice. I would love for her to use that voice and use that influence to really help so many people who are out there struggling. And not use it as an opportunity to brand herself and to create a circus. There are so many amazing groups out there that our speaking right now and doing some amazing things. But you have something like that that kind of overshadows it all. So I was a little disappointed. But she had some good points, too. She really had some good points. And there were some things that were a little off bases.”
Chicago Bears receiver Brandon Marshall met with the media Thursday at Halas Hall and had plenty to say about domestic violence, media coverage, his past and his progress.
It has been an eventful week for Marshall. On Sunday, he battled through an ankle injury (http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-bears-receivers-side-spt-0915-20140915-story.html) to catch three touchdown passes in the Bears’ 28-20 come-from-behind win over the 49ers.
On Tuesday, he fired Twitter shots at ESPN (http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/chi-brandon-marshall-espn-20140917-htmlstory.html%20) after the network unearthed a two-year-old profile of him on “E:60,” sprinkling in minor updates to a story that detailed the receiver’s troubled past and experiences with domestic abuse as well as his steps toward reform.
Then Wednesday, Marshall’s abusive relationship with former girlfriend Rasheedah Watley was pushed back into the spotlight (http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/chi-brandon-marshall-nfl-domestic-abuse-allegations-20140917-story.html)in an odd news conference in Atlanta where prominent lawyer Gloria Allred was joined by Watley’s father, Clarence, and close friend Kristeena Spivey.
Together, that trio spoke to the violence and abuse in Marshall’s past as a means of criticizing the NFL for what Allred asserted were shoddy league practices in investigating such cases of abuse and violence from players.
Here are a few of the most notable things the Bears receiver had to say at the podium Thursday:
On the controversies that have embroiled the NFL in recent months:
“My view on the NFL and this current climate that we’re in, I think it’s a shame. But I do love and respect what we’re doing. Because the NFL, as we all know, has the ability to transform lives, to transform communities. We have influence. We have influence to really shape and mold a culture. So these issues, whether we’re wearing lime green on the field or pink or orange, whatever, I think that is sweet. I love it. Because the amount of awareness and the amount of influence that we have can really dictate a lot.”
On why he was so upset with ESPN after Tuesday’s re-airing of his “E:60” profile that detailed his past with domestic violence:
http://www.trbimg.com/img-541a2f23/turbine/chi-brandon-marshall-nfl-domestic-abuse-allegations-20140917/300/300x169 (http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/chi-brandon-marshall-nfl-domestic-abuse-allegations-20140917-story.html)
“That takes me to why I was so upset with ESPN. And this is tough. This is a really tough one for me. It’s really tough because in situations like this, you’re not going to hear people defending themselves. There are just certain things where if you get defensive, if you speak your mind, you’re going to be judged and you’re going to make yourself look even worse. And for six and seven years, I’ve sat back and accepted my part in everything that I’ve done, everything that I’ve been a part of. And I’ve listened to representatives say, 'Listen, you can’t win this one.' And you can’t. There’s no need to try to win it. But I refuse to sit back and continue to let ESPN or any other network or outlet exploit my story. Because they don’t know the real story.
"ESPN really does know the story. Because they were sent packets with both sides of it. And that’s what is so upsetting. When someone can sit in my living room and look at me and my wife in the eyes and say, 'Listen, this story is about what you’re doing today. The mentorship.' Or this is about your camp, this is about your community weekend. And then they use our story and they sensationalize it to sell magazines or to get better ratings. It’s time that stops.”
On how the court of public opinion needs to slow down:
“I just think that we need to get all the details. It doesn’t matter if it takes a day or if it takes a month. We need to get all the details before we can play judge and jury. Because there are two sides to a story. And there are some thing that we don’t know. And there are times where networks or ESPN will sensationalize a story to get their ratings up or to sell magazines.”
On his experiences with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell:
“I had a conversation with Goodell in February at the Super Bowl. And I was wanting to use the NFL’s platform to push my agenda, to push my cause. And we set up a meeting and we didn’t get to that until June or July. But when we sat down and met, it was interesting because there were probably 10 people in the room. And we were talking about systems and programs and how we can help our guys and how we can implement different things. And what did I do to change my life?
"And at the end, after four hours of sitting there with them and talking about all these cases, he kicked everybody out of the room and it was just me, him, Troy Vincent and a clinician. And (Goodell) had tears in his eyes. And he said, 'How can I help Josh Gordon? How can I help Davone Bess? How can I help these guys? And we have this Ray Rice situation.' And he really was concerned. He really cared. And that’s when I really gained a lot of respect for him. Because a lot of times we think of that as damage control. Or we’re trying to do this to protect the shield. But I gained so much respect for Goodell. Even after everything.
"I met with the man twice (for past conduct issues) and it wasn’t pretty. This time it was great. And I really appreciated that. Because he cared about the guys, he cared about the community. And he kept asking me, ‘What is the call to action? What is the call to action?’ And I’m like, 'Man, the call to action is just to talk about it. We just need to create healthy conversation.'"
On his reaction to Gloria Allred's Wednesday news conference in Atlanta:
"I would love to see how much money she donated to some of these causes. Because she has a powerful voice. I would love for her to use that voice and use that influence to really help so many people who are out there struggling. And not use it as an opportunity to brand herself and to create a circus. There are so many amazing groups out there that our speaking right now and doing some amazing things. But you have something like that that kind of overshadows it all. So I was a little disappointed. But she had some good points, too. She really had some good points. And there were some things that were a little off bases.”