rs probation, a $10,000 fine, and was suspended for another 5 games. His marijuana possession charge was also dropped. Six months later Irvin was another hot topic of the media. He was arrested because he allegedly held a gun to a twenty-three year old woman's head while teammate Erik Williams forced her to have sex with him. Irvin denied the accusations and Barry Switzer (his football coach) had no comment. Switzer also doubted that the allegations would distract the team from practicing for the second round of playoffs against the Panthers.According the NFL (National Football League), Irvin would not be restricted from playing that week because of the accusations. He had to be convicted of it first. Also, his attorney John Godden said that he would not be prevented from leaving the state while the investigation was under way. It seems as though the NFL brushed aside the crime, and would not believe the woman who accused Irvin. Irvin was allowed to practice for and play in the playoff game against the Panthers despite the crime he had just committed with a fellow teammate.Another "hero" of the NFL is Ray Lewis who plays for the Baltimore Ravens. Lewis has been an All-Pro three times, in 1999 he was the NFL's leading tackler, and this past January he was named MVP of the Superbowl. The Ravens player faced murder charges along with two other men because two people at a nightclub after the 2000 Superbowl were stabbed to death. Lewis claims that he was at the wrong place at the wrong time, but he was the one found with the knife. I am not a lawyer, and I was not there so I do not know what actually happened. However, murder is a very serious charge, and the fact is that Lewis only spent fifteen days in jail. He was fined a lot of money, but did not get suspended from any games for the next season. The next season, he played all sixteen games. The point I am trying to make in this paper is that athletes who commit these cr...
