I have neither the time nor the inclination to litigate past sexual assault allegations made against Ravens second-round pick Mike Green. I’m reminded of former Ravens head coach Brian Billick scolding reporters at Super Bowl XXXV who attempted to re-litigate Ray Lewis’ murder trial by telling them “you’re not qualified.”
It was of course too dismissive (albeit effective given his actual job) from Billick then. And it wouldn’t be appropriate for any of us to simply ignore the past allegations against Green now.
But the sentiment would still be accurate. I’m not qualified. The majority of us aren’t. That doesn’t mean we simply ignore the topic because it’s inconvenient.
Admittedly, from a pure football standpoint, I would have been OK with the Ravens selecting Mike Green with their first-round pick, the 27th overall. From a pure football standpoint, I think getting Green at No. 27 might have been a bit of a steal. On top of his staggering 17 sacks at Marshall last season, he posted an outstanding 0.2825 pass rush win rate and 51 pressures. He is an exceptional talent with the chance to become the Ravens’ first true “franchise” edge rusher since Terrell Suggs.
But when he was still on the board at No. 59, I wondered if there might be even more bad things about Green that teams knew about. Given his ability and the willingness certain teams have to bring in players almost no matter what might be in their background, it just didn’t make sense that Green was still there at the end of the second round.
I understand (and have written about) how the idea of a “zero-tolerance policy” was never truly legitimate. But I truly hope the Ravens haven’t moved from “zero tolerance” to “whatever it takes” in the name of pursuing a Super Bowl.
In the opinions of many, the seeming “zero INtolerance policy” of the Kansas City Chiefs during their dynasty would justify their own favorite teams employing similar strategies. I will never totally agree. I’ve said on multiple occasions and won’t shake from the idea that when there is a preponderance of evidence of sexual assault or violence against women, I would prefer that player not play for the team that I root for. That’s my line. (Stunning and brave, I know.)
The Ravens say they’ve vetted Green.
“We understand the severity of what these allegations were, of course,” general manager Eric DeCosta told reporters after the pick. “But, doing our due diligence, we are comfortable with Mike.”
I hope that’s true. There is natural skepticism about how truthful it might be given the Ravens’ simultaneous continued public silence regarding Justin Tucker’s alleged past sexual misbehavior. Although, to be fair, we’re not yet sure exactly what the relationship is between Tucker’s status and sixth-round pick Tyler Loop. This might prove to be them making a direct stand about the Tucker allegations. Or they might have drafted a kicker anyway given Tucker’s on-field struggles in 2024.
And as I mentioned earlier, I’m not qualified to litigate the accusations made against Green. Don’t read that sentence as a defense. It is not. It is a statement of fact. We know very few public details about the accusations made against Green. We know next to nothing about them, in fact. If the Ravens were seriously interested in drafting Green, you’d have to hope that they are being truthful. You have to hope that they thoroughly and exhaustively vetted the accusations, which have not led to criminal chargers. You have to hope they did everything in their power to talk to as many people to have a feel as to where the preponderance of evidence leads.
You have to hope that they didn’t go into their investigation with a desired result, allowing the information they gathered to help lead them to that result.
Well, I and a lot of others have to hope that. Others might be less concerned. And I don’t want to be overdramatic about this, either. I’m not suggesting that if the Ravens have fully bent their domestic violence/sexual assault policy that I will be “boycotting the team” or telling my kids not to root for them. Sports allegiances are about shared regional experiences and go beyond any one player.
But it would be tremendously unfortunate if that were the path the organization was taking regarding these specific issues. I hope Mike Green hasn’t committed any sexual crimes in his past. I hope Green and all Ravens players are representative (even if not perfect) citizens moving forward. I hope he’s a tremendous football player, as I expect he will be.
And I acknowledge that this is very complicated and can’t be cleaned up in one internet column, either.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Marshall Athletics