Teammates and two business associates of Ray Lewis said yesterday they doubt the Ravens linebacker could have committed the murders he has been charged with and linked Lewis' recent troubles to his acquiring entourages that included "bodyguards."
Lewis, 24, was charged in the stabbing deaths of two men outside an Atlanta nightclub early Monday morning after a night of Super Bowl parties. In arresting Lewis, Atlanta police said he was suspected of being one of several men who fled the scene of the killings in a black limousine.
According to several people close to Lewis, the fourth-year linebacker had started surrounding himself with three, four and sometimes five people at social functions. Several members of the Ravens front office became concerned and planned to meet with Lewis after he returned from the Pro Bowl game in which he had been expected to play Sunday.
"I don't know what the people around him might have been doing, but ... knowing Ray like I do, this is not something I can see him being involved in," said Ravens defensive end Michael McCrary. "I believe he got caught off guard. He has got to be innocent."
"Ray hangs with a tough crowd," said a sports agent who has known Lewis for several years but did not want to be identified. "He was reared in a tough area [in Lakeland, Fla.] and apparently it has stayed with him in Baltimore. The tough crowd has caused him to be involved in two incidents in the last month and a half."
Besides the altercation in Atlanta, he was referring to a Nov. 30 incident in a Baltimore County bar in which assault charges were filed against Lewis by a woman.
Another business associate, who is in the sports/entertainment field, said he spent Thursday night with Lewis at the Cobalt Lounge in Atlanta, where the killings occurred.
According to the associate, Lewis was also accompanied by three men. He did not know if those were the same people who were with Lewis Monday morning.
"When Ray first came to Baltimore, you couldn't get him to hang out," said the associate. "Then others started hanging around him. They weren't just relatives. The guys in Atlanta were drifters Thursday night. I've seen them before at Super Bowls, Pro Bowls, any events where there are football players. They dress well, act well and hang around players so they can get free drinks, limo rides and free hotel rooms.
`They prey on players'
