Back in October, Steelers’ rookie defensive tackle Alameda Ta’amu was arrested in the Southside of Pittsburgh for driving under the influence. That was really just the major offense that he was charged with, but he was also charged with attempting to flee, resisting arrest, and driving the wrong way down a way one street. So you’d think after that, that he would never even think of driving with alcohol around him let alone under the influence.
Well think again.
Just yesterday, Ta’amu tweeted a picture of himself and a buddy of his riding around with a bottle of whiskey. Not the smartest idea when you are extremely close to losing your job, and with one more screw up you’re done. He claims that it is an old picture from after the draft, but that still doesn’t make it right.
I believe him that it’s an old picture, and that he made a huge mistake by putting that up. He went on to tweet an apology to the fans and everyone. Ta’amu went on to say that he no longer drinks and that he is currently here in Pittsburgh training. You have to believe what he is saying though because he has passed every urine analysis test since October 14th . That proves his innocence in the matter of him not drinking anymore. But then again, who is to say when the last time he was tested was.
For a guy who is in the spotlight like he is, he hasn’t been the smartest person about this sort of thing. He is in a career where he’s doing what he loves for a living, and making extremely good money doing that. This isn’t the way to handle it, and especially in Pittsburgh where everyone here bleeds black and gold. Shedding bad light on their team is not a good way to become a fan favorite, and it’s a good way to find yourself on the outside looking in.
Anybody would love to be in the position he is in really, making millions of dollars to do something that they have loved since childhood. I love the game of golf and if I were to make the PGA Tour, there is no chance that I would ever endanger my career. It’s easy money for him really since he loves the game so much and has no problem with working out and practicing.
But what seems to be a problem for him is staying out of the public eye. He hasn’t been in the NFL for a full year yet and he has already made two mistakes. One more strike and he’s out I believe. I hope that he can find a way to stay on the down low and keep himself out of harm’s way. I say that for his sake and the Steelers’ sake because they are thin at the defensive tackle position.
Back when the report of his DUI came out, all of his teammates said that he was a good guy, and would never expect such a thing from him. So that gives us fans hope that he won’t do anything so dumb again, and it shows the fans that he really is a good guy and like most people alcohol changes people for the worst sometimes. Hopefully he’ll be terrorizing offenses soon for the Steelers because we could use him.
Photo Credit: Yahoo! Sports
