Ray Lewis: An Unauthorized Biography

By Belmont and Belcourt Biographies

Two-time Super Bowl Champion Ray Lewis is a controversial man who has lived a controversial life. Even though the former Ravens linebacker was one of football's most dominant defensive players for much of 17 years, his name is forever frozen in a single event that occurred after Super Bowl XXXIV in Atlanta in 2000. While he was never convicted of the murders he was charged with and the case against him didn't seem strong, the public conviction may never go away.

Most fans are aware of the basics of Lewis’ story, but in order to truly understand Ray Lewis, you must first understand where he came from. This unauthorized biography explores Lewis’ upbringing, his high school and college careers, and details his breakthrough into the NFL, all the way through his Super Bowl XLVII victory against the San Francisco 49ers.

Lewis’ exceptional talents, charismatic personality, and controversial history have many people wondering where his post-football career will take him next. Inside, you will discover where it all started and learn why Ray Lewis is such a lightning rod for controversy. From family to football to the future, all you need to know about Ray Lewis is right here, right now, in the most up to date coverage of his life.

This book also includes all of Ray Lewis’ NFL statistics.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Price World Publishing
• Release date: Feb 27, 2013
• ISBN: 9781619842885

Book preview

RAY LEWIS

An Unauthorized Biography

Table Of Contents

True Emotion

Basics

College football

NFL

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

Awards and accolades

The Rally Speech

A Coach's Criticism

A Teammate's Criticism

No Touching the Trophy

Announcing his Retirement

The Murder Trial

Endorsement Morality

Legacy

A Statue in his name

Charitable activities

Like Father, like son

His first career sack

Saturday Night Live

A Wife’s Bickering

Lewis and Manning

Lewis and Goodell

Origins of the Dance

On to ESPN

Lewis the Coach?

Closing

Statistics

I just said that God doesn't make mistakes, Lewis said. He's never made one mistake. There was no way that he was going to bring us back here twice to feel that same feeling. We're back, but this time we're on our way to the Super Bowl.

True Emotion

During the national anthem before the Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots faced off in the AFC championship in the 2013 playoffs, Baltimore's Ray Lewis got very, very emotional. Dancing back and forth while waiting kind of emotional. Perhaps he realized that he had very little time left in his football career since he had announced he's retiring at the end of the season. Or perhaps he was performing for the CBS cameras that were so closely focused on his face.

His voice is a thunderclap in a room of loud men. It rises high then rolls low, fueled by tears and agony and joy. The voice spills stories from a book – a good book – the speaker believes and the men listen and nod and agree because many of the Baltimore Ravens read this very same book. And because they trust the voice and they trust the Bible from which the voice reads, they believe the voice gives them strength. They believe it gives them unity. They believe it is helping them win.

This is the Ray Lewis the Ravens know.

But this is not how much of America sees Lewis. Even though the Ravens linebacker has been a great star and one of football's most dominant defensive players for much of the past 17 years, his name is forever frozen in a single event that occurred right after Super Bowl XXXIV in Atlanta in 2000. The lingering images are of an NFL player standing trial for the murder of two men. While he was never convicted of the murders and the case against him didn't seem strong, enough questions still exist. The public conviction will never go away.

For every Peyton Manning waiting to embrace him after Baltimore's AFC division round win in the Denver, there is an Anna Burns Welker, wife of Patriots receiver Wes, who wrote: Please go to Ray Lewis' Wikipedia page. 6 kids, 4 wives. Acquitted for murder. Paid a family off. Yay. What a hall of fame player! A true role model!

Faith is a tricky thing in sports. It bathes some players in a luminous light of good while making others look like cheap opportunists. Many of those same fans who hang on the every word of Tim Tebow express disgust at the very idea of Ray Lewis, despite the fact that Tebow's expressions of Christianity have had far less impact in the Bronco’s and Jet’s locker rooms than Lewis's have had in Baltimore's. To the teammates of both men, Ray Lewis is a far bigger hero than Tim Tebow.

He turned a ragged