The League

Santonio went from living in poverty in Belle Glade, Florida to making millions of dollars a year. You can take Santonio out the good, but you can't take the hood out Santonio... Don't get me wrong, I've smoked plenty 'o weed in my day as a younger man, but to risk my status in the NFL, my $100k a week paychecks, on something as petty as a couple of blunts, not gonna happen... Two things I find of particular interest about this story: 1. The police just so happened to be looking for a similar vehicle, YEAH RIGHT! 2. He realized he was busted and handled it like a man.

According to the Pittsburgh police arresting officer, “Mr. Holmes was very cooperative with officers and turned over some items to us ... A couple of marijuana blunts.” He goes on to say, "Holmes was very cooperative, respectful and wasn’t impaired."

So he wasn't necessarily "torching up BEHIND THE WHEEL" as someone posted. Not saying that having the stuff in his car is a good thing... especially during the season... especially the week the Steelers are to face the New York Football Giants!

Anyway, Go Nate! He'll pick up the slack. Go Steelers!

As long as players act as inappropriately as a lot of sports figures do, the thug and ghetto tags will be applied to them by a lot of us. It is a fact that a majority of players are black and therefore get the ink when they are caught in these sort of situations. It is also a fact that you seldom see white players doing these kind of stupid blunders. If I made as much money as the players do, I'd never risk any of my career doing drugs and acting like an animal.
While I am commenting, I as a Baltimore fan will take up for Terrell Suggs and the rest of the Ravens who labeled Ward as a dirty player. I do not think from their conversation that they put any bounty on him. I happen to agree with them on their assessment of his actions but do respect him as a great player who does not have to act in this manner.
A Ravens fan who hopes we blast the Steelers in our next meeting.

Way to go Steeler organization. I lived in Pgh until 5 years ago and now deal with Bengal fans, but still a die hard Steeler fan. All teams should be so quick to disapline players. We will niss Santonio this weekend, but clean up and get back on the feild. Also, I think the NFL should look into the Baltimore players who put a bounty on Hines.

I think the Rooneys should burn a Fattie and just chill.

I agree pot is the least worrisome drug, but this couldn't come at a worse time, considering how ESPN is now Court TV. Most major sports outlets already have people thinking that we play dirty, and now they will dig up every small infraction from the past few years to make their case. They'll say

1) Holmes' run-ins with the police (i.e. Pacman vol. 2)
2) Ward likes injuring players for fun every game
3) Harrison beats his wife

I hate this BS, the pre-game buildup just moved from Ben vs Eli to the Steel City Thugs. This couldn't be farther from the truth.

it was a big mistake for Santonio to tempt fate and he got busted. Unfortunately too many (including the Rooneys) overreact to smoking pot. So many people die from drunk drivers or other issues with drunks. not so for pot smokers, it's just not something that big business can control, that's the real issue. In fact it's totally decriminalized in many parts of the world and even in some cities in the US.

He screwed up. He needs to smoke at home and not carry it with him. He's a good player and important to Pittsburgh and the Steelers. Let's hope the Rooneys don't screw this up.

If you believe Santonio's endorsement ads, he lives in a Hartland Homes residence, and with his contract, you can believe that's not in a ghetto. He seems to have matured since his early days as a Steeler, with paternity issues. It seems that as a father, he would like to set a better example. We shall see if Limas (S)weed can replace him as the deep threat!

I smoke marijuana. I've never been caught. If I was cited for a petty misdemeanor like this, I don't think my employer would suspend me. They respect my work, as well as my personal freedom. Why do we hold an athelete to different standards?

The Rooney family will not tolerate this behavior. This "inactive" roster move; i.e. suspension is his one free pass. If you think I'm a hysterical girlie fan, ask Bam Morris how the Steelers organization liked his drug arrests.
They didn't.

look up the whole police report though, it appears he got targeted though. the police were tipped off that a vehicle matching the description of his SUV was transporting large quantities of heavy drugs. they just happened to catch him in being stupid. granted it is a horrible idea to burn marijuana while driving, but they obviously got the wrong guy. i'm sure his ride is real nice too, so you can the rational the police used to pull over a black male in downtown pittsburgh.

also he didnt lie about his mistake, he was up front with the officer and admitted to what he did wrong. kudos to the steelers for deactivating him quickly before they get any more press time this week for non-football related incidents(i.e. more on ward)

What some of this guy's defenders are ignoring is that he was torching up BEHIND THE WHEEL! If he had killed someone while driving stoned, would it be "no big deal"?

people are so quick to label any black athlete who gets arrested as a "thug" liability. that says a whole lot about ignorant/racist anonymous posters on the web. he got caught with a small amount of marijuana in the afternoon, he's not knocking out out strippers at 4am in nightclubs. he has definitely made mistakes in the past, but he'll bounce back. that is unless Goodell decides to continue his strong arm approach to the personal conduct policy. who knows with that guy though, he has too much direct power these days (although pacman deserves every bit of punishment he has received).

people are so quick to label any black athlete who gets arrested as a "thug". that says a whole lot about your ignorance. he got caught with a small amount of marijuana in the afternoon, hes not knocking out out strippers at 4am in nightclubs. he'll bounce back, unless goodell decides to be unreasonable. who knows with that guy though, he has too much direct power

What he really got arrested for was driving while black

Ghetto Mentality?!

I don't know much about Homles to be sure,
but I don't see the link between marijuana usage and the 'ghetto' mentality.

Fact: Whites do more drugs than blacks in America.

Fact: Suburban and Rural areas have higher drug use than Urban areas.

Opinion:
Marijuana is not a bad drug, it's like caffeine or tobacco, not the healthiest thing, but also not worth disciplining a football player.

Look, some people like smoking weed, whats wrong with that? live and let live!

I wish they could all be as commited as Hines Ward. The Steelers do not tolerate this kind of BS. Just ask Plaxico ....

holmes is from belle glade, florida. trust me, that is a ghetto like you can't even imagine. The poverty is overwhelming. It has one of the highest AIDS rates in the country. I'm a huge fan of Santonio and I hope he can break the "ghetto mentality" and become a man of character...

Well I guess the weed explains why Holmes is playing so slugishly this season...