Steelers Clarify Domestic Abuse Policy

The Pittsburgh Steelers made perfectly clear their position and policy towards players who are involved in domestic abuse cases: if you are going to bitch slap your woman, you had better be a Pro Bowler.

It's a rare day that this blog will take pot shots at Chairman Dan Rooney, but his explanation yesterday on why the team released reserve wide out Cedric Wilson, while retaining Pro Bowl linebacker James Harrison, was pitiful (at best). This flimsy and transparent attempt to mask a blatant double standard is already reverberating throughout the national media scene. I can only liken Rooney's cardboard explanation to that of that fat, gay politician that was playing footsie in the airport bathroom, only to explain it away as his typical pooping protocol.

Harrison's public outreach and easy going nature were the factors that prompted Rooney to not take action

Call this what it is. If Wilson had been coming off a 1,000 yard receiving season, or if Harrison was still battling to earn a starting job, the players' fates would have been the same. As much as I love the play of Jimmy Harrison, and as neutral as I am to Wilson's performances, this is a sad day for an organization and family that has stood for fairness and decency for a long time. The Steelers are clocking their bitches at a rate that would even make Ike Turner proud. When you add these two events to the Santonio Holmes domestic violence charges of 2006, you can bet that the Men of Steel will now garner every wife beating nickname and moniker available.