Thoughts on 9-11

Perpetrator: Rashard Mendenhall

Offering an opinion, any opinion, on 9/11 is often reputation suicide for public figures, yet here was Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall last May, stirring it up on Twitter after news broke that U.S. armed forces had killed Osama bin Laden. "What kind of person celebrates death?" the then 23-year-old Tweeted. "It's amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. We've only heard one side ..." In fairness, some might applaud Mendenhall's honesty - the rare time an athlete spoke not in recorded bytes but genuine thought. Of course, when you play football in the good ol' USA, such commentary is not welcome. After his Tweets, which he quickly removed, Mendenhall was panned by anyone with a soap box to stand on, and his one major endorser, Champion, dumped him amidst the controversy.

* Bing: What college did Rashard Mendenhall star at?

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