Merriman Responds To Jason Taylor

Several weeks ago Jason Taylor spoke out against Shawne Merriman regarding Merriman's steroid suspension this year, saying the following:

"You really shouldn't be able to fail a test like that and play in this league, to begin with. To make the Pro Bowl and all the other awards, I think you're walking a fine line of sending the wrong message. A performance-enhancing drug is, obviously, what it is. You enhance your performance by doing that. You fail that test, I think it's not right. It's against the rules and ultimately I think it's sending the wrong message to the youth in America and the people who look at this game not only as entertainment but also to learn lessons from it."

Taylor makes some good points about the situation. Of course Merriman has blamed the failed test on a tainted supplement, but that seems to be the carbon copy response from every athlete who fails a banned substance test and is asked about it. Is Merriman guilty? Only a few people know. My view is that these athletes depend on their bodies much like most of us depend on our minds to earn a living. I don't believe any athlete doesn't know what they're putting into their bodies because they're risking everything by not knowing. Steroids are rampant in today's sports' world, and it seems to be the guys who don't have what they put into their bodies masked well enough who get caught and punished. I don't buy that a small minority of athletes are involved. If playing a sport is your life and the majority of players around you are taking stuff that enhances their performance, it'd be extremely hard to turn the other way and not take anything. I'm not saying it's right to do it, but I understand why they choose to.

Jason Taylor was on ESPN this morning and told the crew that Shawne Merriman had sent him a package recently. The package contained a Lights Out hat, a Shawne Merriman jersey (size medium, inferring a size difference between the two athletes), and a bag of popcorn so Taylor can watch him in the playoffs from home. He also expressed his displeasure and was clearly upset by the retailiation. I found Merriman's response to be rather humorous since Taylor used the media to politick his case for the Defensive Player of the Year award and throw Merriman under the bus in the process.

Taylor has a history of speaking his mind to the media, which I admire for the most part, but I thought Taylor was wrong in saying what he did about Merriman. If he wanted to take a stand against steroids, he should have made these comments during or immediately after the suspension. Curiously, he attacks him right around the time when the Defensive Player of the Year award was about to be voted on and Taylor knew that he was going to be going against Merriman and Champ Bailey. I don't fault Taylor for saying what he said, but I fault him for the selfish timing of it. I also didn't like the fact Taylor was upset about Merriman's retaliation. You can't call someone out in the media and expect them to ignore it.

Well, Jason, remember the golden rule. If you don't want to deal with retaliation, don't open your mouth in the first place.