Rashard Mendenhall Criticizes Bin Laden Death Celebration

It used to be that Ben Roethlisberger’s off the field antics were the major source for embarrassment for the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Ben is settling down and getting married in July, but now the Steelers have to cope with running back Rashard Mendenhall’s tweets questioning why Americans were celebrating Osama bin Laden’s death  and the actual cause of  the Twin Towers’ collapse.  The sequence of tweets:

“What kind of person celebrates death?  It’s amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak.  We’ve only heard one side…”

That was followed by:

“We’ll never know what really happened.  I just have a hard time believing a plane could take down a skyscraper demolition style”

“ I believe in God.  I believe we are ALL his children.  And I believe HE is the One and Only judge”

No doubt by this time, Mendenhall was receiving some shall we say, negative feedback.  His responses:
“Those who judge others, will also be judged themselves”

“For those of you who said you want to see Bin Laden burn in hell and piss on his ashes, I ask how would God feel about your heart?”

And finally:

“There is not an ignorant bone in my body. I just encourage you to #think”

Mendenhall then dropped the subject and did not tweet after that.

Well, the reaction on Twitter was predictable, and much of it was obscene.  As much as the Steelers’ organization would have liked to hide under the bed in embarrassment, team owner Art Rooney II  issued a statement in attempt to put several light years of distance between the Steelers and Mendenhall. The team has had no contact with the player due to the NFL’s labor dispute so Rooney could not discuss the issue with Rashard.  Rooney’s statement:

“I have not spoken with Rashard so it is hard to explain or even comprehend what he meant with his recent Twitter comments. The entire Steelers’ organization is very proud of the job our military personnel have done and we can only hope this leads to our troops coming home soon.”

Well, we have no doubt that Osama bin Laden was the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, just as we are sure that a commercial airliner loaded with thousands of gallons of jet fuel that has been turned into a guided missile could bring down a skyscraper as the intense heat of the flames caused structural failure which led to the collapse. Years ago, we said we wanted Osama taken out not by an impersonal airstrike or by suicide, but by a Marine or Special Forces soldier so that he knew that Americans had tracked him down.  It has come to pass thanks to our Special Ops people and their brilliantly executed plan. Good job guys.