The history of Dominic Raiola's sordid on-field actions is well-documented, but few players have taken him to task like Brandon Marshall, who called Raiola a "dirty player" and "a worse human being" after the offensive lineman stomped on the ankle of Marshall's Chicago Bears teammate, Ego Ferguson. Speaking on his radio show for ESPN 1000 in Chicago, Marshall blasted the NFL's one-game suspension of Raiola and said that he should be banned from the NFL, via Awful Announcing:
Brandon Marshall says Dominic Raiola should be banned from the NFL
Marshall doesn’t think much of Raiola. The Bears wideout said the member of the Lions, in addition to being a dirty player, used Marshall’s mental illness to talk trash.
“One game, one game, one game? That’s terrible,” Marshall said. “I don’t even know Ego’s injury. Is he OK? What if he broke it? What if he broke his ankle? If he breaks Ego’s ankle, and Ego never plays again, how much money does that guy miss out on? This is what he does for a living.”
Marshall described his own interactions with Raiola on the football field. Marshall has been outspoken for several years about his life with borderline personality disorder. Raiola apparently used Marshall’s mental illness as a focal point for trash talk:
“A couple years ago, you guys know that I advocate for mental health. So two years ago ... see, a lot of people [ask], why do you call Detroit [Chicago’s] little brother? I apologize again, Detroit. I retract that statement. But I was really mad at him because in the game, I’m just warming up, I’m just standing there. He’s like, ‘Go take your medicine. Go do this you freaking weirdo, you freaking crazy guy. Go take your medicine.’”
Marshall's account prolongs an ignominious tradition of Raiola nastiness. Earlier this season, he dove at the knees of New England Patriots defensive lineman Zach Moore as the Detroit Lions were kneeling the ball to end the game. Last season, Raiola was forced to apologize after verbally abusing members of the University of Wisconsin marching band during a game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. Raiola promised to make a donation to Wisconsin for which the university may still be waiting.
As Awful Announcing points out, Raiola has now been cited for six safety-related violations since 2010. According to Marsahll, the NFL may need to strengthen its negative reinforcement if Raiola is going to learn anything:
“This guy is a dirty player, and he’s a worse human being,” Marshall said. “He has no respect for himself, and [a] one-game [suspension] is freaking terrible. This was clear. This was clear. This guy literally jumped and stomped on this guy’s ankle. And we give him one game? A game that means nothing to them; means nothing to them.”
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