“I honestly think this issue has something to do with PED’s and high testosterone levels contributing to this type of behavior and guys not being able to handle their rage.”
— Eddie George, on the issue of domestic violence in the NFL
EDDIE GEORGE, MICHAEL IRVIN AND BRIAN SCALABRINE DEBATE OFF-FIELD VIOLENCE AND LEBRON’S REAL REASONS FOR “COMING HOME” ON THIS MONTH’S EDITION OF JIM ROME ON SHOWTIME®
This Month’s Edition of JIM ROME ON SHOWTIME® Premieres Tuesday, October 14 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME; Encores all month long on SHOWTIME, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND® and SHOWTIME ANYTIME®
Photo Credit: SHOWTIME
LOS ANGELES (October 14, 2014) – Heisman Trophy winning running back and NFL veteran Eddie George, Hall of Fame receiver and three-time Super Bowl champ Michael Irvin and 11-year NBA veteran Brian Scalabrine debate off-field violence among NFL players on this month’s edition of JIM ROME ON SHOWTIME premiering Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME.
“I can’t recall when I played seeing this many athletes in trouble for domestic violence,” said George in The Forum segment. “I honestly think this issue has something to do with PED’s and high testosterone levels contributing to this type of behavior and guys not being able to handle their rage. Listen, I’m married and I know the challenges behind that, but it seems like now the behavior is out of control.”
Irvin and Scalabrine noted that the advent of technology and social media is bringing the issue of domestic violence to the forefront like never before.
“Athletes need to realize that we live in the technology age,” Irvin said. “Anything that goes on right now, we get instantaneously all around the world. Obviously there have been things that have gone on earlier that we knew nothing about, but it won’t and can’t happen here and now. Here’s the sad part, technology and social media have made all of us turn an eye towards something that we should’ve been focused on a long time ago.”
George, Irvin and Scalabrine also discuss other relevant topics in sports in The Forum, including the return of LeBron James to the Cleveland Cavaliers and the influence that the Ray Rice saga has had on bringing the issue of hazing in high school sports to the national spotlight.
Mixed martial artist, actress and current UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey, Emmy award-winning actor and stand-up comedian Ray Romano, Los Angeles Clippers’ owner Steve Ballmer and Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback and two-time Super Bowl Champion Ben Roethlisberger all appear on this episode as well.
Here are additional highlights from Tuesday’s show:
On LeBron James:
JIM ROME: “Does he need to win right now and does he need to win multiple titles?”
BRIAN SCALABRINE: “Yes, that’s what I think LeBron needs to do to establish himself as a great all-time player. For him to be looked on the same level or better than Michael (Jordan), he needs to win more than six championships.”
“Let’s keep it real. I think that all LeBron cares about is his legacy. He’s looking at Dwyane Wade with the ice on his knees and then sees Kyrie (Irving) with his MVP from last year’s all-star game and goes, I need to make this move now and pull the wool over everyone and pretend that I’m doing it for Northeast Ohio. He’s really going back to Cleveland because it gives him the best chance to win. Miami didn’t have the salary cap situation (flexibility)… Cleveland had young stars with flexible contracts.”
“To pull the wool over the fans, if he were to go to LA, people would be like ‘so what’s your deal?’ You go to Miami and leave us and then you go to LA, all you’re doing is chasing around these championships. But, if he goes home back to Northeast Ohio and ‘changes the kids’ then that’s what everyone’s going to think it’s about-when in reality it’s about winning and cap flexibility. It comes down to passing Michael Jordan and his six championships and everything else is second.”
EDDIE GEORGE: “LeBron is going to do it all for Cleveland. It’s beautiful because as athletes it’s very rare to be able to control your own destiny. He learned the blueprint on how to win in Miami and now comes back to Cleveland with that blueprint and rides off into the sunset. If he wins one championship for Cleveland, that’s equivalent to winning nine championships for LA.”
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Concerning hazing incident at Sayreville High School in New Jersey:
MICHAEL IRVIN: “The fundamental idea behind hazing is to create moments that are supposed to bond a team together. The situation at Sayreville sounds like some sick, perverted person was given some form of leadership and has led an entire group of people into this type of negative behavior. Nowhere is this type of hazing effective in team-building. This incident is sick.”
“The good thing about this, and honestly I believe this wholeheartedly, is that had we not had the Ray Rice situation, this incident wouldn’t have become as big as it has. People understand now because of the Ray Rice situation that you can’t even try to explain an incident like this to the public. You must shut it down and that’s exactly what happened.”
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One-on-one with Ben Roethlisberger (via satellite)
JIM ROME: “Players talk about a goal in mind (Super Bowl victories). What was your goal?”
BEN ROETHLISBERGER: “Well I know that anyone who has played quarterback knows that four is the number that (Terry) Bradshaw and (Joe) Montana have. Bradshaw’s the greatest Steeler quarterback so I would like to try to get five championships, one more than him.
JIM ROME: “Do you think Bradshaw’s pulling for you to get four championships?”
BEN ROETHLISBERGER: “I’m not sure; you’d have to ask him. I’m sure he wouldn’t want me to get four championships, but if he’s a true Steeler at heart then he would want this organization to win as many championships as possible.”
* * *
RONDA ROUSEY: “There have been times during a fight when I thought I was going to die. I thought to myself, I would rather break my neck than lose this fight. I will never tap out of a fight. Because I know the feeling of losing, I know that I would rather die than lose a fight. It’s not that I’ve never lost; it’s that I’ve lost at the worst times so I know what a loss is. That’s why I want to win so much more than these other girls because I know that I would rather physically die than die inside from losing a fight. I remember every single loss of my career, but have forgotten so many of my victories.”
JIM ROME: “When you saw the Ray Rice elevator incident for the first time, what was your reaction?”
RONDA ROUSEY: “I couldn’t believe what I was watching, I didn’t know if it was an actual person that this was happening to.”
“The thing that really surprised me was that she married him after that. I think that she deserves better and I wish that she knew that.”
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JIM ROME ON SHOWTIME airs Tuesdays with encore airings all month long on SHOWTIME and SHOWTIME EXTREME® and is available on SHOWTIME ON DEMAND and SHOWTIME ANYTIME.
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