Anyone who wears a "Free Ray Lewis" T-shirt should be ashamed.
On what basis should Lewis be freed? That he was wrongly charged with double murder in Atlanta? Or, that he is a Pro Bowl middle linebacker for the Ravens?
It can't be the former -- no one in the general public has enough information to determine that Lewis should be cleared of any criminal wrongdoing in the stabbing deaths of Richard Lollar, 24, and Jacinth Demarus Baker, 21.
So, it must be the latter.
After one week, the Lewis case already is full of conflicting accounts, unanswered questions and debatable police actions. Thus, it's no surprise that many Ravens fans are engaging in wishful thinking, and even outright denial.
If reasonable doubt is the basis for finding an accused criminal not guilty, then there certainly appears to be hope for Lewis. But that's only based on what we know. And right now, we know only what Atlanta authorities and Lewis' attorneys wish to tell us.
The police may have more answers -- witnesses, suspects, evidence -- than they are willing to share. Lewis' defense team also may have more answers, but it's only going to relay knowledge that portrays its client in the best possible light.
Frankly, you can't even trust what the news media tell you.
When little official information is released, the media often rely on leaks and unnamed sources in an attempt to present the most accurate portrait possible. But that approach is not without risk: Richard Jewell is suing the Atlanta Journal-Constitution for incrim- inating him with the tone of its coverage after identifying him as a suspect in the Centennial Olympic Park bombing in 1996. Jewell was cleared of suspicion by the FBI.
For both the media and general public, the lessons are clear: Reserve judgment. Weigh facts, not opinions. Keep an open mind.
Much as Ravens fans might be rooting for Lewis, the issue is not what his loss would mean to the team. The issue is justice, and justice will be served only when the murderers of the two victims are arrested, convicted and sentenced.
If Lewis is found guilty, so be it.
A fan is a citizen first. And an NFL team's fortunes are just slightly less important than the laws of the land.
For the most part, even the most passionate Ravens fans embrace those concepts. But when no one knows what to believe, anything and everything seems possible, from Ray Lewis, horrified bystander, to Ray Lewis, double murderer.
