Suh’s selfish, reckless play hurts his teammates

In only his second season, defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh has made a name for himself as a dirty player.

Have we all been fooled by the professional demeanor of Ndamukong Suh during his radio and TV interviews?

Is his public demeanor far from the real person?

How can one man’s off-the-field public image be so far from the classless violence he demonstrated on the football field on Thanksgiving for the Detroit Lions?

I know how it feels to lose your temper in the “heat of the battle” but usually when I “lost it”, I lost it with myself. I would call myself names, swear to myself, and denigrate myself for making absurd mistakes, but I would not go around and step on people, spit on people, and curse at others.

Most athletes aren’t looking for a fight and certainly would not go on television and deny everything when the tape clearly showed that they had done something that could have seriously injured another player.

I would ask myself how the hell could I be so stupid as to hang a curve ball to that hitter or a horrible pitch when it really counted, but it was my fault not anyone else’s.

Suh’s lack of remorse and his attempt to spin the facts of the events during that ugliness was really the straw that broke the old camels’ back. Does he think we are are all blind? Even Lions coach Jim Schwartz implied that Suh screwed up, stating that not being in the lineup accomplished nothing, no matter how angry he becomes.

If you can’t control your anger in the NFL, a naturally violent game, you will become useless very quickly. You can’t be making millions of dollars and act in a manner that puts your ass on the bench and jeopardizes your teammates. Suh seems to have forgotten about them.

The shoes that the players wear can cause real injury, maybe even permanent injury. What if the cleats that Suh tried to kick the player with had slipped and wound up under the face mask of the player? Could he have lost an eye?

Of course no one can say it was an accident in any form. We have all been watching Suh play “dirty” in his first seasons in the NFL. Most of the violations he has gotten away with, but before someone really gets whacked by this monster of a man, he has to be suspended for a couple of games. A one-game suspension won’t send a strong enough message.

His antics have possibly cost the Lions a chance to make the playoffs. He may have cost the Lions the Thanksgiving Day game, and with a suspension he will cost them another game, at least.

Is this what happens when an athlete is given so much money that he doesn’t care about anyone else?

Suh’s conduct was totally inappropriate and deserves serious fines and at least a two-game suspension. Why two games? He deserves to sit one game for the incident, and one for lying about it in the post-game.

It’s not like he hasn’t been put on notice before. Earlier this seasons, Suh met with the Commissioner to discuss his style of play, which was drawing the attention of officials on a weekly basis. Obviously that meeting accomplished nothing.

While the Lions fight for a playoff spot, their first in years, Suh’s absence will hamper them greatly.

As a grown man, earning millions of dollars to play a game, Suh’s actions are both reprehensible and senseless. What about the young kids who look up to him?

Unfortunately, I don’t think the seriousness of what he did has sunk in yet. I only hope for the Lions sake that somehow he channels this anger and violence, controls his emotions, and matures. He’s obviously a very talented player, but Suh is worth “ZERO” when he’s on the bench.

Let’s hope this man-child starts to “get it”, or Lions fans will have a long off-season after so much promise earlier.