Superbowl's most valuable liar
Mike Connolly
Editor in Chief
I can only say I was completely disgusted by CBS studio host Jim Nance in the Superbowl post-game interviews Sunday night especially in regards to the stance he took in the pregame show.
After a piece about Ravens middle linebacker Ray Lewis who was accused of a double murder the night of the Superbowl last year, Nance and the rest of the CBS studio team discussed why Lewis was still facing questions about his role in the murders in Atlanta.
Although Lewis was acquitted, many reporters and much of the general public doesn't believe that Lewis is completely innocent of the crime.
The biggest reason for the lack of trust in Lewis is his conviction for obstruction of justice. Although most of the evidence shows that Lewis did not stab the two men that night, it also shows that he probably does know who did kill those men. Although Lewis was acquitted on murder charges, he was convicted of obstruction of justice.
This leads me to wonder… why would an innocent man who knows nothing about the murder of two men, obstruct justice? The obvious answer is that Lewis knows exactly who killed those men and he has been lying for months to protect his friends.
Nance pointed this out very sharply in the pregame show. He took a strong stance and expressed exactly why very few people trust Ray Lewis. Nobody trusts Ray Lewis because Lewis was convicted of trying to prevent justice from being served. I can think of few lower crimes than stopping two grieving families from receiving the justice they deserve.
Despite Nance's powerful pregame words, he turned into a ball of jelly at the postgame interview. Rather continuing his pointed criticism of the now-Superbowl MVP Ray Lewis, Nance let Lewis get away with giving the same-old "what a storybook ending" garbage he has been spouting for months.
I would love to know what kind of warped story books Lewis is reading his 3-year-old son.
Nance had the chance on the national stage to put Lewis on the spot, to ask the questions that he has been avoiding for months and finally make him account for his lying and doubletalk. Instead he let Leßwis shirk responsibility for his actions yet again.
While Lewis celebrates his Superbowl victory with his teammates, the families of the two victims have little to celebrate and live a nightmare as the killers remain at large. Lewis knows what happens. He needs to stop dodging the truth and bring the killers to justice — even if they are his friends.
For all Lewis' "storybook ending" posturing, however, he didn't get invited to the land of fairytales. Disneyworld usually asks the Superbowl MVP to make a "I'm going to Disneyworld" ad after the game. Lewis, however, was not chosen for this honor and instead Ravens quarterback Trent Dilfer is "going to Disneyworld."
All Inside Stories for Tuesday, January 30, 2001