Loved this exchange from the Ray Lewis Boston conference call

[Baltimoreguy]

It's always a little creepy hearing Ray talk about the tragedy of untimely death. That being said, look at this transcript of his conference call with the New England media. He clearly didn't want to be there, but still gave an opening and agreed to take questions. Then check out the first question he got.

RL: I'm going to be very brutally honest with all of you. Right now is a very emotional time for me because there's a lot going on. The Sean Taylor incident and all - that is really, as a man and as someone that I've kind of mentored, too, it kind of makes you reflect on life. Like I told my guys, it's not anything against the game itself, but when you have to slow down and life brings up this type of issue that you're having with Sean, it kind of takes away everything else. That's why - as far as the game - yeah, I'm going to be there to play, but emotionally I'm just really trying to get through these next couple of days. Dealing with his family, in and out and just trying to deal with a lot of issues, trying to help them out. Football is kind of on the back burner as far as this questioning and that's what I told my guys. I'm not trying to blow you off, but there's just a lot going on with me right now on this end, trying to help the situation out and trying to get over that. [I'm] staying focused on what I've got to do and just let God work and do what He does, but it's a really challenging time for me. I will tell you that because it took me back to when my roommate got killed. It's just a lot of things that brought up a lot of old wounds. I don't want to be disrespectful and do the interview, but I just... the energy to talk about something that, I'd be lying to you, trying to create something that isn't real right now because it's a very emotional time for me.

Q: Are you up for a couple of questions?

RL: I just want to make this real brief because, like I said, football has been the last thing on my mind. You guys don't even have a clue how late I've been up every night just trying to deal with all these different issues. Football, right now, is really the last thing on my mind, but I'll take one or two if we can make it quick, please.

Q: It might sound insensitive, I hope it doesn't, just based on the power of the words you just spoke to us, but what are your thoughts on Adalius [Thomas] and where that situation lies now.

RL: What situation?

Q: The back and forth between you.

RL: Guys, look, I'm totally sorry, but there's no way I can. I just lost one of my closest friends and we're talking about me and Adalius? Wow, I don't understand that and that's why I didn't want to have this conversation. I don't understand that. We're about to play the New England Patriots, I've never played against AD [Thomas]. I'm not going to play against AD. To try to relive something like that when someone loses their life and we're trying to relive gossip, I don't have energy for it. I don't have energy for it. That's what I'm trying to stay away from. If I could just play football and deal with my boy's death and get through this week, I'm good because this really shows you that's really not important if that's what everybody else wants to talk about.

 

[Fenian_Bastard]

Hey, Ray.
There are other dead people you should eb thinking about.
Just sayin'

 

[BillyT]

You get paid millions of dollars to play a game.

Shut up and give the nice men the quotes.

Of course, he's probably thinking that what happened to Sean Taylor could have happened to him.

 

[Songbird]

Mental note: Bet against Baltimore this week.

 

[SF_Express]

You know what? Not to defend Ray Lewis, who has multiple downsides.

But I actually understand this particular thinking completely.

The Sean Taylor thing WAS tough for a lot of UM people, no matter what we think of them collectively sometimes. And I understand Lewis not wanting get into a discussion over some between-teams trashtalking that is essentially completely irrelevant in the big picture, when this is going on.

I really get it in this particular case.

 

[wickedwritah]

So don't show up for the conference call.

No need to chide a reporter who is just doing his job.

 

[PHINJ]

What if he's writing a story about Adalius Thomas facing his old team and in particular, Ray Lewis?

 

[Mitch21]

to me it seems like...

Ray Lewis: Alright, just don't bring up one thing, lets keep the questions professional and move on.

Reporter: question....about that one thing...the very first question.

 

[Jack_Kerouac]

What if he's writing a story about Adalius Thomas facing his old team and in particular, Ray Lewis?

Could be. But I would think he could have a little more tact than to ask that question in a conference call immediately after Lewis goes on a diatribe like that.

Should he have waited for Lewis to take the "one or two" questions he wanted to ask and then not even have a chance to ask the question for his story?

 

[Del_B_Vista]

If you don't want to do the call, here's a strategy that would have been completely OK with me when I was on the NFL beat: Ask your PR guy to get somebody lined up and let the other team's beat writers know about it, come on the phone and make the statement you did, how you're not up for questions this week, then politely hand the call off to your teammate.

When guys didn't want to talk, I always respected that if they just manned up and said exactly why they didn't want to talk. There's 52 other guys in the locker room to talk to, most of the time a lot more interesting than the guy who's blowing you off.

 

[Stone Cane]

not a ray lewis fan at all

but

reporter is a moron

 

[Cristiano_Ronaldo]

But think of what a great lede note it makes...kidding.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

Ray's hurting after the murder of his friend? Hmm, now he knows how the friends and family of Richard Lollar and Jacinth Baker felt seven years ago.

 

[crusoes]

Ray's hurting after the murder of his friend? Hmm, now he knows how the friends and family of Richard Lollar and Jacinth Baker felt seven years ago.

No. Not really. I'm betting he doesn't know that. But he knows where his clothes went.

 

[jimnorden]

Dumb question and even worse timing. may be one of the dumbest questions of all time -considering the timing of it.

 

[broadway joe]

Not a dumb question at all. If Lewis shows up to the interview and says he'll take a couple of questions, why shouldn't he ask it? The reporter phrased it sensitively, and the response he got was good enough to use in his story. No harm done.

 

[jimnorden]

Please ... Ray Lewis very honestly and openly explains the pain he's in over the loss of his friend and how it's hard to concentrate on football and the very first question asked is some trivial BS that has absolutely nothing to do with the game. The guy asking the question should be ashamed of himself for not being aware of what's going on around him and for asking a question that sounds like high school gossip.

 

[bruins2585]

jimnorden, I'm curious. What should the reporters have asked? He talked about Sean Taylor and that's fine but the story of this game is Thomas facing his old team.

 

[jimnorden]

<quote>Adalius [Thomas] and where that situation lies now.</quote>

Any other week it's a decent question - not great, though, as it just seems like the writer is trying to get lewis to go back into the war of words from last month. But for it to be the first question after the guy lays his heart on the line about a personal tragedy is just awful timing. I think the best thing they could have done as a group would have been to just say thanks for taking the time, and out of respect to ray lewis they will let him go without asking any questions.

his comments aren't really going to add much to a few game previews, anyways.

 

[Herbert Anchovy]

It's not the print media's responsibility to console Ray Lewis.

He's there presumably to discuss business.