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 Ray Lewis speaks to the press on Media Day.
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ESPN's Andrea Kremer recaps Ray Lewis' performance at media day.
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 Ray Lewis doesn't feel that he should be the matter at hand.
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Wednesday, January 24
Remorseless Lewis talking only football
By Joe Lago
ESPN.com
TAMPA, Fla. -- Football. Just football.
Unlike Kerry Collins
, who spoke openly about his troubled past, football is all Ray Lewis
wanted to talk about Tuesday during Super Bowl XXXV Media Day.
The Ravens linebacker refused to divulge details on the topic everyone wanted to talk about -- his side of the story at Super Bowl XXXIV when two men were murdered outside an Atlanta nightclub.
"You'll write what you all want to write, so quote me on what I say but don't put words in my mouth," Lewis said. "Sunday ... that's all I'm here for. That's the only thing that matters."
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Victim's family a year later
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Richard Lollar's dream was to own his own barber shop. Unlike those of Ray Lewis, who has led the Baltimore Ravens to the Super Bowl, his dreams won't come true. He's dead, one of two victims slain in a vicious fight outside an Atlanta nightclub after last year's game.
Cindy Lollar-Owens, his aunt, said Tuesday that her family is still grappling with the Lollar's death nearly a year later. The family has started a memorial fund (c/o FirstMerit Bank, 1525 South Plaza Blvd., Akron, Ohio, 44320) it hopes will raise enough money to open a barber shop in his name in his hometown of Akron.
Lollar-Owens also said she plans to pursue a wrongful-death lawsuit against Lewis, who is playing under a four-year, $26 million contract.
"I want some place where people can gather, a safe place where even kids can play," Cindy Lollar-Owens, his aunt, said Tuesday. "I have collages to honor his memory. I want some place where we can look at his pictures, remember him in some way other than a plaque in a cemetary."
A spokesman for the Fulton County (Ga.) District Attorney's office confirmed that lawyers for the Lollar family have met formally with its office to request materials that could be used in a civil suit. Lollar-Owens said she hopes to meet with the DA's office again sometime in the next week, if she can muster the funds for a flight to Atlanta.
Family members of Jacinth Baker, the other person stabbed to death following last year's Super Bowl, declined to comment Tuesday.
Lollar-Owens also said she was hoping to protest her nephew's murder Sunday outside Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., to remind the NFL and its fans about what she considers a travesty of justice -- acquittals against two of Lewis' friends who were charged with the murder of Lollar and Jacinth Baker. Lewis pleaded to a misdeameanor charge of obstructing justice for lying to police during the murder investigation.
But Lollar-Owens, who owns a small limousine service, said she does not have enough money to get to Tampa. She is also hoping that at some point she can talk to Lewis and NFL officials, who she said have made no effort to reach out to the family or contribute to Lollar's memorial fund.
-- Tom Farrey, ESPN.com
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"I'm not here to please you. If you want the whole story, go get ESPN the Magazine," Lewis said in reference to his revealing, one-on-one interview in the magazine's Jan. 8 issue. "Because if you want to hear it from me, nah. ..."
Facing a throng of reporters that overflowed his designated interview area, Lewis deflected questions without apology and failed to show remorse for obstructing justice in the murder investigation of a year ago. He blamed the city's mayor for directing attention of the murders on him, but did not show compassion for the victims' families.
"They (the media) are not going to get what they want," declared Lewis, who wore an AFC champions visor slightly pulled to the right, silver dog tags around his neck and diamond earrings in both ears. "It's about football, the Super Bowl. This is not about me."
"The real truth of this is that this isn't about those two kids lying dead in the street," he later said. "This is about Ray Lewis. And that's not right. Don't be mad at me because I was on center stage."
When asked if he had anything to say to the families of the victims slain in the Buckhead district of Atlanta, Lewis defiantly replied: "Football, football, football."
The longest hour of Lewis' NFL career began at 1 p.m. ET on the sidelines of Raymond James Stadium. Twenty-three minutes into the one-hour interview session, Lewis showed the first signs of frustration over repeated questioning about his thoughts and whereabouts on that fateful night.
"I guess saying to a person 'Let's talk about football' doesn't clue in to a person," he said.
Lewis' game of dodge ball prompted reporters to seek truths elsewhere. The NFL's Defensive Player of the Year made references to the word "kill" twice during the interview. Neither dealt with the murders, but both times the sound of reporters scribbling into notebooks immediately followed.
The media began its search into Lewis' soul and mental health. "My objective in life is to be a great guy," he said. "My kids and my little brother, that's who I please."
Another question regarding the murders sneaked in. "For those who weren't here," Lewis announced, "football is what I speak about."
Another reporter interjected with a similar query two minutes later. "I guess he wasn't here for the first wave," Lewis said while trying to smile. "If it's not about football, you need to know the directions."
The line of questioning turned to his tattoos (he has three of them, including one of himself on his leg), his plans after Sunday's game (a parade in his hometown in nearby Lakeland "if we win") and his kids (three boys, one girl).
Lewis then faced questions about his character.
Does he worry about his image? "If I could go back, I would show you my image. I would show you the respect people give me on the field."
Does he worry about endorsements? "Are you talking about the ones I turned down? Endorsements are crazy right now. My hand is hurting from signing all those autographs."
Did he worry about not winning Defensive Player of the Week honors once in the regular season? "When you're Defensive Player of the Year, you're Player of the Year. You know that what you did in the offseason paid off."
Does he worry that people are scared of him? "A lot of people are scared of me -- especially on Sundays."
As the stadium clock wound down to 0:00, Lewis was asked what he thought about his Media Day
experience.
"Actually, I enjoyed it," he said. "It (the Super Bowl) is exciting. It's overwhelming right now."
Ironically, Lewis said he sought advice on what not to say from talkative teammate Shannon Sharpe.
"He made it plain and simple. If you don't want to talk about it, let it go," Lewis said.
Seconds after the Ravens' interviews were over, Lewis stepped off the podium and had a quick word with ESPN's Stuart Scott. He took time to kid around and playfully line up against rookie running back Jamal Lewis near midfield before joining the rest of the Ravens for a team photo.
Posing with his teammates, Lewis smiled. He could talk football -- and only football -- again.
Joe Lago is the NFL editor for ESPN.com.
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