Cowardly Lion Chad
Chad Wheeler.
What can anyone say about former Seattle Seahawks offensive lineman Chad Wheeler that does not include the word coward?
ESPN reported that, “The King County (Wash.) prosecutor’s office filed criminal charges of first-degree domestic violent assault, domestic violence unlawful imprisonment and resisting arrest against Wheeler, a spokesperson with the office told ESPN. He is accused of twice choking his girlfriend until she lost consciousness.”
But doesn’t Chad Wheeler have bipolar disorder?
Yes.
But there are many men with bipolar disorder who do not allegedly choke out their girlfriend in an attempt to kill her.
And do not get it twisted; the former Seattle Seahawk thought he was killing her because he allegedly was surprised when she regained consciousness.
In another cowardly move, Chad Wheeler blamed mental illness and tweeted, “Events happened over the weekend that transpired from a manic episode. I am deeply sorry for the pain and suffering that I have caused to [the woman] and her family. I apologize profusely for the turmoil that I have caused to my family, teammates, fans and those closest to me. The most important thing right now is that [the woman] gets the care she needs and I get help. Both are happening.”
Often when writing an op-Ed, I quote a song that sums up my opinion on the matter.
I thought about “Love is Blind” by Eve.
On the song, the Philadelphia emcee rapped, “She was in love and I’d ask her how? I mean why? What kind of love from a n**** would black your eye? What kind of love from a n**** every night make you cry? What kind of love from a n**** make you wish he would die?”
And although I love the song “Love is Blind,” those bars make it seem like some of the fault is the woman’s for staying in an abusive relationship.
I thought about my homeboy Willie D’s hit song, “Clean Up Man.”
On the song, the Geto Boys rapper said, “Swept her right up off her feet and into the Jag, cause you was using her face as a punching bag, I’m no boy next door myself neither, but if you gotta beat her, you don’t need her.”
And although Willie D and I have much respect for each other, “Clean Up Man” is a little light considering what authorities accused Chad Wheeler of doing to his girlfriend.
So since song lyrics will not do the alleged situation justice, I am left with the word coward.
I once said on the talk show “Isiah Factor Uncensored” on Fox 26 in Houston that men do not hit women.
Only cowards hit women.
Only a coward would request that his woman bow down to him as if she was not his equal like Chad Wheeler allegedly did.
If a man is unhappy in a relationship, they have many options to rectify the situation.
The first one is to leave.
And although that makes perfect sense, we have constantly seen men resort to violence instead of just moving on and trying their luck in another relationship.
However, the keyword in the Chad Wheeler ordeal is the word girlfriend and not wife.
Sure, dissolving a marriage requires navigating through the headache of splitting up the money, the property, deciding who gets the children and when the other spouse will get visitation.
I have seen men have to readjust their work schedule and not work on certain weekends because they will have that weekend with their child.
Those men have hated being away from their child or children and hated that the marriage did not work.
However, they never tried to choke out their ex-wives.
They simply picked up the pieces and moved on.
Those men got back into the dating scene although that can be scary when you have not dated in years.
But they did it anyway.
Chad Wheeler and his girlfriend had not tied the knot.
Therefore, no legal paperwork was necessary to end his relationship with the woman.
He just had to pick up and leave, or kick her out of the house if they lived in his home.
Chad Wheeler could have blocked her phone number.
Furthermore, he could have blocked her from all social media apps.
If she still insisted on coming around, he could have gotten the law involved.
But from his reaction to her regaining consciousness, Chad Wheeler obviously did not want his girlfriend around anymore because he choked her out, seemingly with the idea of ending her life.
Unfortunately, all Chad Wheeler had to do was kick her out of his life and that would have solved the problem.
If he had done that, Chad Wheeler still might have had a lucrative NFL career, which probably ended immediately because it is difficult to believe that an NFL franchise would bring him in considering he is not a star player.
The criticism and blowback would be awful from a public relations and sales perspective and simply not worth the aggravation.
If Chad Wheeler knew he had a problem with bipolar disorder, he did not have to wait until he nearly killed a woman to get much-needed help.
But cowardice does not just rest at the feet of Chad Wheeler.
Unfortunately, many members of the media have that same cowardly trait.
When an African-American commits a violent offense, he is often simply called a thug who needs to get taken off of the streets.
When young African-American kids make a mistake, they never get the benefit of blaming mental illness or some other excuse.
They often get locked up and lose their future.
But when many White males make the same mistakes, mental illness sometimes is the excuse.
In reality, there is no excuse for a man to put his hands on a helpless woman.
But then again, a real man would not put his hands on a woman.
Only a bona fide coward would do that.
