Ray Lewis is too big to be tarnished

ACCORDING TO ESPN.GO.COM

NEW ORLEANS -- Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis has faced so many tests during his 17-year career that the latest one is starting to feel relatively undaunting. It started on Tuesday with allegations that he used a banned substance and ended somewhere around midmorning Wednesday, with the future Hall of Famer artfully squashing the accusations. We all knew Lewis would be the headliner in this year's Super Bowl. What we learned on Wednesday is that he's too big to be touched by this level of scandal.

 This really isn't about whether Lewis did or did not take a banned substance found in deer antler spray in hopes of recovering faster from a torn triceps. We'll never know the truth about that story, and Lewis will be retired from the game in only a few more days. This is about how we both view and treat our greatest stars in the NFL. Men as popular as Lewis become nearly untouchable on a stage as grand as the Super Bowl.

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