Call me crazy, but I've always had kind of a soft spot for NFL wide receiver Brandon Marshall. The newest member of the Chicago Bears hasn't had it easy since telling the world he suffers from borderline personality disorder. But even that doesn't explain how he could have punched a woman in the face in a New York City nightclub.
Mental illness doesn't get you a pass on being an ass when other people are getting hurt. Sympathy? Maybe. But it's hard not to feel more upset on behalf of the people in his wake. People like Christin Myles, the woman who was celebrating a birthday at a Chelsea nightclub, only to tell cops she was sucked into one of Marshall's rages.
It took a lot of chutzpah for Marshall to come out and admit he's got a disease last year. I get that. Our society is still stuck with some outdated ideas about what it means to battle with demons in your head, and BPD doesn't make a whole lot of sense, even to the scientists who study it. Talk therapy and medicine only go so far in controlling someone's emotional outburst.
I can see how Marshall might have gotten agitated after being kicked out of a club and lashed out at the person nearest him. Sadly, Myles says that was her. Although the wide receiver hasn't been charged, police are investigating her claims that he hit her.
Now let's just walk through this for a minute, people. If a guy is that volatile, if it really happened, it means his aggression has not been controlled. It means his BPD needs more treatment. And the Bears want to put him back on the field this season?
What? So he can beat the snot out of someone else? If he can't control his rage over getting kicked of a club, imagine what he's going to do when the game is on the line.
We're walking a might fine line here between not judging a man because of his mental illness and letting him use it as an excuse. It is, at the end, an illness. Just as the Colts could kick Peyton Manning to the curb because of his neck issues, the Bears can expect the newest guy on their roster get his BPD under control.
Here's some more info on the trade from the Dolphins to the Bears. What do you think Marshall should have to do before the Bears let him play?