SAME STORY, DIFFERENT TIME, DIFFERENT LOCATION

If I were an NFL scout, I’d be pretty impressed with Jabaal Sheard of Pitt.

He’s a defensive end who continued to beat on a guy while he was being beaten with a police baton.

He should be able to laugh off those NFL offensive lineman arm thrusts.

Jabaal got in a fight outside a Southside Bar late Saturday night and he’s been charged with aggravated assault, resisting arrest, criminal mischief and and a few other things that will most likely get him an “F” in Criminal Justice.

Sheard is also probably going to be suspended and that will be no small loss for Pitt. One of the NFL’s scouting services recently listed him as one of the top 25 pro prospects in the country.

This is nothing new. Pitt football players were getting in bar fights when I was in college 40 years ago.

Back then, it was more likely to happen in Oakland. Players would show up in a group and try to throw their weight around in a bar and dare anybody to say anything about it.

Inevitably, someone would either stand up to one or, after enough beer, just decide to challenge one.

It’s a volatile mix. Kids who are experiencing fame and bars for the first time.

Dave Wannstedt is going to have to send a strong message by suspending Sheard for a couple of games.

Spears better hope that the city doesn’t decide to send a message and show that football players don’t get special treatment.

The details of this story are going to make it hard for them to let this kid off easy.

Date: July 20, 2010

Categories: Sports

Tags: PITT SHEARD AGGRAVATED ASSAULT, PITT SHEARD SUSPENDED WANNSTEDT

Comments RSS TrackBack 44 comments

Reply

Mario4Prez

in July 20th, 2010 @ 12:31

Sheard is a disgrace and I wouldn’t mind if Wannstedt kicked him off the team. A 2-3 game suspension is the absolute minimum. Perhaps a transfer to penn state can be arranged, where boys can be boy and all (good) football players are considered innocent until proven guilty.

Reply

DavidMcGwire

in July 20th, 2010 @ 15:13

Not that I’m saying he shouldn’t be suspended…but let’s not overplay this because of the sensationalism of the article.

He got into a fight and during it he pushed a guy through a glass door. The police had to use pepper spray to subdue him….not that it’s acceptable behavior, but come on…the same thing will probably happen tonight and tomorrow and every night.

From all I know, he’s never been in any kind of trouble before, and yes I realize that football players are supposed to be representatives of the University; but come on…if every guy who got into a fight in their early 20′s was a disgrace…then paint a majority of us as disgraces.

Reply

Frank

in July 20th, 2010 @ 18:41

To put it mildy, this guy was out of control and has some serious anger issues. Steroid use wouldn’t surprise me in the least bit.

According to court papers, he didn’t simply “push” a guy through a glass door. He threw him through a glass door and then continued to punch him in the face and body. This was after a police officer attempted to subdue him with a baton and failed. Eventually, OC spray was used to finally end the altercation.

While I can only speak for myself, I am not worried about what type of trouble this head case has caused in the past. I’m more concerned with what type of trouble he will be causing in the future, after he makes the jump from college to pro. That’s when these type of situations carry on over. The examples are endless.

I say you nip it in the butt right now and nip it hard. Set an example for once.

Reply

David McGwire

in July 22nd, 2010 @ 11:42

I guess everyone who gets into a fight has serious anger issues.

You wouldn’t be surprised in the least bit if Sheard was on steroids, that’s fine. However, would you be surprised if the situation was blown out of proportion and the article simply made a fight between two guys out to be more than it was?

I mean, If I was a guy who was pummeled relentlessly after being thrown through a glass door, I’d probably not stand up….brush myself off…refuse to go in an ambulance…and have my girlfriend drive me to the hospital later.

I’m just saying, let’s not figure out the punishment before we figure out the crime.

And it’s nip it in the bud…It’s a gardening reference which means to slow down growth.

Nip it hard….Nip it REAL HARD!

Reply

Mike

in July 21st, 2010 @ 07:12

This isn’t a simple brawl. He’s charged with a felony here. That will lose you your job in many cases. And I guarantee you that if he was on a sport besides football or basketball he’d already have been removed from the team.

Reply

Bobzilla

in July 21st, 2010 @ 03:05

Transfer to Penn State?
I doubt it.
There he might actually be required to attend a few classes.

Reply

Crash

in July 20th, 2010 @ 12:37

Bad citizen. He should be kicked off the team.

Right?

Reply

JohnSteigerwald

in July 20th, 2010 @ 14:53

Suspended at the very least.

Reply

Crash

in July 20th, 2010 @ 18:56

That’s not what I asked you.

2nd time below:

Bad citizen. He should be kicked off the team.

Right?
Reply

Crash

in July 21st, 2010 @ 00:02

Don’t delete my comment John. You wanted UNCHARGED Ben Roethlisberger REMOVED from the Steelers roster based on accusations from drunken bar whores and called him a bad citizen based on rumors and email.

So if your opinion is consistent, you must want Sheard removed from PITT’s roster as well, correct?

Reply

JohnSteigerwald

in July 21st, 2010 @ 20:36

Depending on what else comes out in the investigation, I would have no problem with him being thrown off the team.

Reply

Crash

in July 21st, 2010 @ 22:54

“Depending on what else comes out in the investigation, I would have no problem with him being thrown off the team”

You keep dancing, just answer the question:

Sheard threw a guy through a window, and was charged with a crime.

So if you wanted uncharged Ben gone, you must also want CHARGED Sheard gone as well.

I’ll make it simple, answer yes or no.

Can you handle that one?

Reply

JohnSteigerwald

in July 22nd, 2010 @ 09:50

I’ll stick with my original answer. Thanks for asking, though.

Reply

Crash

in July 22nd, 2010 @ 14:24

Translation: I have different standards for Ben because he won two rings while my hero Kordell Stewart could not.

Thanks John, you just proved my point.

Reply

JohnSteigerwald

in July 22nd, 2010 @ 18:23

Yeah. You have me figured out.

Reply

victor surma

in July 20th, 2010 @ 14:44

John, How times have changed. In 1967, Joe Paterno threw Jim Koller, a star linebacker from Butler, Pa. off the team because he caught him in a bar in the Miami airport after we beat the Hurricanes. Jim, as it happens was the MVP of the game. He became a successful veterinarian but the incident scarred him his whole life. I don’t know if the punishment fit the crime, but it sent a helluva message.
Reply

Scootermojo

in July 20th, 2010 @ 15:03

“This is nothing new. Pitt football players were getting in bar fights when I was in college 40 years ago. Back then, it was more likely to happen in Oakland. Players would show up in a group and try to throw their weight around in a bar and dare anybody to say anything about it.
Inevitably, someone would either stand up to one or, after enough beer, just decide to challenge one. It’s a volatile mix. Kids who are experiencing fame and bars for the first time.”

This is one of the main reasons why football at any level no longer interests me…it’s the attitude of entitlement and many people don’t realize that they are also encouraging it with their fanaticism regarding football. Is it really any wonder that by the time they become pro’s and the inevitable crime they commit comes along? They act like the rules don’t apply to them.

Do you really ever see this type of behavior associated with other sports? Not really whereas in football it’s a day to day thing.

You may say you are done with baseball, John, but how anyone can possibly support this behavior is beyond me. Which is worse: MLB’s economic model/problems or this type of behavior that’s commonplace in football at basically every level from high school up?

Reply

JohnSteigerwald

in July 20th, 2010 @ 16:01

For me, the economics of MLB. Baseball used to be my favorite sport. Now I can’t look at it. I would like to see college football players go back to being real college students but I can still pick the games I want to watch and not worry about which team has the highest GPA or the most criminals. If the Big East decided to let some schools have 85 scholarships and limited Pitt and three or four others to 50, I would stop paying attention immediately.
Reply

Bobzilla

in July 21st, 2010 @ 03:09

There’s more 1,600 professional football players in the NFL. To condemn the whole lot of them for the actions of a few is totally rediculous.
Scooter, keep watching whatever sport (soccer, bowling, pool, baseball) that interests you. Football just doesn’t you in order to survive.

Reply

Scootermojo

in July 21st, 2010 @ 20:54

trust me, it’s more than just a few…every on espn, fox sports, SI.com, TSN….there’s a link about some football player getting arrested of facing trial….it’s much higher than the rest of the population.

people came down hard on MLB for the whole steroids scandal but where exactly is the outrage with all this off the field violence from football players? MLB players were hurting nobody but themselves….football players crimes often hurt innocent people who normally would have nothing to do with them.

either way, keep supporting it but keep that in mind if one of these incidents involves you are someone in your family that you pretty much enabled it.

Reply

Tim

in July 20th, 2010 @ 15:06

I’m guessing it’s just another example of big head, small brain. If your the guy who has everything to lose you have to be disciplined enough to walk away from this sort of thing. Another guy that will learn the hard way I suppose.
Reply

Goose

in July 20th, 2010 @ 15:45

August 1971 – I offered to buy a girl a drink in a bar in Oakland, (Wolfharts) nothing out of the ordinary. A minute later some stud walks up to me and says “my girlfriend says you were bothering her”, and squares off with me; I laughed (I’m 5’9” – 125) and he tell me to step outside (he’s a least 6’2″ -185).

Now my friend (we’ll call him Mike) is sitting close by and he see this guy giving me shit and says, “why don’t you pick on someone your own size” (Mike was 6’0″ 195 with a 29″ waist) and the guy tells him to mind his own business or he will be “next” – with that Mike gets up and with one punch knocks the guy out! One punch, it was a beautiful thing to see.

As he friends were helping him out of the bar, I’m screaming at the guy to “never come back here again” (just think Barney Fife, I sniffing and puffing my chest out like I just beat the guy. . ..)

A hour later, the guy (with his eye half closed) comes back with a guy that is 6’6″ 240, and I say “oh shit, this isn’t good” – and walks up to my friend and says, “you hit my friend with a beer bottle” and Mike says “no I didn’t. . . I hit him like this” and proceeds to knocks this guy out with one punch – a few weeks later we found out they were Pitt Football players. . .

Too bad the guy in Oakland didn’t have a friend like Mike

Reply

Richard

in July 21st, 2010 @ 09:30

Sheard has to be suspended, and I’m sure Wannstedt is pissed. We’re on the eve of a season where Pitt has to be considered the favorite to win the Big East. On top of that, two of the first three games are big challenges to Pitt. They open up in Utah, and then New Hampshire (1-AA a very winnable game, but NH should not be taken lightly) and then Miami.

Reply

Rory B

in July 20th, 2010 @ 17:47

Drunk college kids get into barfights not just football players. Anyone here ever go on the SS? Bunch of tough guys all shapes and sizes. This isn’t even a news story if Sheard is not involved. Suspend him the first 2 games and have him ready for the Canes. If he keeps his nose clean no one will remember this a year from now.
Anyone know the names of those kids in the frat at Penn State that is on trial now because they served booze to an underage kid that later died? I know I haven’t seen their names published? Why is that? Which is worse?
Reply

Mike V.

in July 21st, 2010 @ 06:00

Two games would be perfect. Wanny should suspend him for whatever MAC school they play and Syracuse.
Reply

C.S. Keys

in July 21st, 2010 @ 09:33

I expected him to be suspended for the entire season but perhaps there’s more to the story. Even if he was acting in self-defense, it’s clear that he went over the edge. I wonder how much $$$ he lost come April due to this incident.
Reply

Niblick

in July 21st, 2010 @ 10:02

I think you have to wait till the investigation is over before making any judgments. The fact that the guy went through a window means nothing. A fight is a fight and if it happens near windows someone may go through it. There are no rules in a street fight. The other guy could have had a knife. You do what you gotta do. I do agree he shouldn’t have been in a risky situation by being at a bar all night. The current suspension was the right thing to do.
Reply

francis

in July 21st, 2010 @ 13:24

…y didn’t the police just tase this ass…another case of talent doing what they want when they want…charges will get reduced…just watch…it always happens when athletes are involved…this guy went to the school of roethisberger…do as you want….you have talent so you deserve things in life…i’ll dare the cops get involved…
Reply

Isteve Roissy

in July 21st, 2010 @ 19:44

Suspend him for a few games and then get him back on the field. Being a violent, agressive jagoff is a good skill-set for a D Lineman. This guy is a stud player, will be an NFL first round pick and make millions. Go to the South Side tonight or over the weekend and you will a fight from time to time, it happens. Pit is the shit, this is theyear Wanny goes BCS.

Reply

Ochotexto

in July 22nd, 2010 @ 20:16

Hopefully this won’t close Pitts “window” of opportunity this year.

Reply

Dan

in July 21st, 2010 @ 20:09

hahahaha…well, back when I was a kid we walked 10 miles through three feet of snow uphill both ways. steigerwald, just admit this site is another way for a bunch of old curmudgeons to bitch about how much better things were 40 years ago when you were burning Beatles albums. what a freakin joke of a “sports” site.

Reply

JohnSteigerwald

in July 21st, 2010 @ 20:32

I don’t make a habit of visiting sites that I consider to be a joke. Why do you? Who needs you?

Reply

Crash

in July 21st, 2010 @ 22:55

“I don’t make a habit of visiting sites that I consider to be a joke”

And yet you LINK Pro Football Talk on this blog?

Reply

JohnSteigerwald

in July 22nd, 2010 @ 09:50

I obviously don’t consider it a joke.

Reply

Crash

in July 22nd, 2010 @ 21:54

“I obviously don’t consider it a joke”

Then you are just as dense as Florio.

Btw, how was Terry Bradshaw’s funeral? You’re “not a joke” website wrote a report that he was dead.

Reply

JohnSteigerwald

in July 23rd, 2010 @ 07:01

USA Today reported that he had alife threatening tumor behind his heart in 1985.

Reply

Crash

in July 23rd, 2010 @ 12:04

Wrong again John, it was KDKA (Hint: they are located in Pittsburgh) who reported the tumor.

Washington Post

Pittsburgh station KDKA-TV reported the tumor was attached either to or behind [Terry Bradshaw]‘s heart. Bradshaw, 40, who lives in Dallas, was tested during several days last week for what he described as pains in his chest, the station said. The television station said the additional tests may include a biopsy.

Bradshaw’s wife Charla denied the report in a message left with their answering service. “There has been no confirmation of anything,” said a woman who fielded calls to the Bradshaw home in Irving, Tex. “Mrs. Bradshaw says he is resting at home and will go in for more tests this week.”

Here’s another link to a story confirming it was KDKA who reported it including quotes from Vern Lundquist who said Bradshaw told him they found something that looked like a tumor in his chest.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=b7UiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7rQFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2833,4855409&dq=terry-bradshaw+tumor+heart&hl=en

Reply

JohnSteigerwald

in July 24th, 2010 @ 13:44

USA picked it up.

Reply

C.S. Keys

in July 23rd, 2010 @ 14:05

I think it’s just sour grapes, Florio seems to be a bit tough on the Steelers
Reply

Crash

in July 24th, 2010 @ 13:35

No John, it was KDKA who reported the Bradshaw tumor. Bradshaw also told his partner Vern Lunquist that he may have a tumor in his chest. So obviously KDKA TV got it from somewhere.

Reply

JohnSteigerwald

in July 24th, 2010 @ 13:43

USA Today reported it. I don’t care where they got it. I know where it originated. Florio hasn’t been wrong half as many times as the NY Times.

Reply

C.S. Keys

in July 22nd, 2010 @ 12:20

Pro Football Talk is legit

Reply

Mario4Prez

in July 21st, 2010 @ 21:28

Yeah Bob, pus players must keep up a 2.0 in basket-weaving and music appreciation. At least Sheard’s not as bad as Tony Johnson who “wasn’t hurting anyone” (JoePa’s words) after his DUI arrest.

By all means, continue to down that pus Kool-Aid.

Reply

JohnSteigerwald

in July 22nd, 2010 @ 09:49

If they only allowed real college students to play football and basketball, within two weeks the NFL and the NBA would have minor league systems similar to MLBs and the NHL.

Tweet @John

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Comments RSS TrackBack 44 comments

DavidMcGwire

Frank

David McGwire

Mike

Crash

Crash

Crash

Crash

Crash

victor surma

Scootermojo

Scootermojo

Tim

Richard

Rory B

Mike V.

C.S. Keys

Niblick

francis

Isteve Roissy

Ochotexto

Dan

Crash

Crash

Crash

C.S. Keys

Crash

C.S. Keys