Sports

Ray Lewis, Charged With Murder In 2000, Has No Respect For The Patriots Because Of Scandals

Ray Lewis stated last month that Kaepernick must decide,

(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Ford Springer Reporter
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Ray Lewis, who was charged with two counts of murder in 2000, said the New England Patriots “scandals” have led them to “lose the respect of certain people.”

The former Baltimore Raven offered his take on why people hate the Patriots when discussing the upcoming Super Bowl LI matchup on “Speak For Yourself” Tuesday afternoon.

“Any time that you’re caught in some of the things that the Patriots was caught in, right? when you think about the scandals, the cheating and all these things, then you lose the respect of certain people,” the former linebacker said.

Lewis was involved in an incident in which two men were stabbed to death after a Super Bowl party in Atlanta in the early morning hours of January 31, 2000.

Defense attorney Ed Garland (L), Baltimore Ravens football player Ray Lewis (C), and defense attorney Don Samuel (R) stand as Lewis pleads guilty to the charge of misdemeanor obstruction of justice after striking a plea bargain with the district attorney's office for the lower charge in exchange for his testimony against the other two co-defendants for the Buckhead double homicide last January. Lewis was in Fulton Superior Court making his plea to Judge Alice Bonner 05 June 2000 in Atlanta. (Photo credit should read KIMBERLY SMITH/AFP/Getty Images)

(Photo credit: KIMBERLY SMITH/AFP/Getty Images)

The former Baltimore Ravens linebacker was originally charged with two counts of murder in relation to the two deaths. After striking a deal with prosecutors in exchange for his testimony against two of his companions that night, Lewis plead guilty for a misdemeanor charge for obstruction of justice.

Lewis received one year of probation a $250,000 fine from the NFL for his involvement in the incident. He went on to play 12 more seasons for the Baltimore Ravens, but the 2000 incident has never been forgotten.

Ray Lewis (Photo credit: Getty Images)

(Photo credit: Getty Images)

After explaining his disrespect for the Patriots, Lewis praised Tom Brady as “the best quarterback that we’ve ever seen play [the] game.” Adding “that’s just factual.”

But Lewis circled back again to his hatred of the New England team. “I don’t like nothing about the New England Patriots. I never have. That’s just me,” Lewis said. “That’s just me because of my culture and everything we came from.”

The Patriots will face the Atlanta Falcons in Houston on Sunday for Super Bowl LI. It will be an NFL record-setting seventh appearance in the Super Bowl for both head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady.