betED.com – The View from the Couch
So – the NFL season is set to start on Thursday and the main topic of conversation is about a bisexual former Playboy playmate and reality star and full-time publicity hound named Tila Tequila.
Naturally.
Are you ready for some foolishness?
Shawne Merriman, the man mountain linebacker for the San Diego Chargers was arrested Sunday morning after he was accused of choking Tila Nguyen, aka Tequila, and then stopping her from leaving his house.
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Naturally there was more to the story – but instead of relying on traditional media to dig it up, or letting the courts decide, both parties eventually spilled their sides on Twitter.
At first Tequila went into hiding, only posting that she was “safely” back at home in L.A. But after Merriman linked to a prepared lawyerly-sounding statement, her tiny little typing fingers began to fly, flinging out accusations and explanations and excuses before deleting them all and going back into hiding.
But there really is no deleting when it comes to the Internet. You put something out there; it’s out there for good.
First she posted on Merriman’s “roid rage” saying “Steroid use makes people act aggressive….known fact,” then linking to an article on Merriman’s previous 4 game drug suspension in 2006.
Merriman came back saying he wasn’t charged with anything, he was only trying to stop her from driving drunk, he will clear his name and then asked for funny Youtube videos because he “needed a laugh.”
She then wrote about how she is “allergic to alcohol. It has been publicly known for years. That is how I got the name Tila ‘Tequila’ cuz the irony. I can’t drink.”
Not drink well anyway.
The owner of the club where she was shot draped all over Merriman earlier that night says Merriman only drank water and she was “visibly intoxicated,” adding, “It sounds like she’s allergic to the truth.”
Ouch.
Tequila is a completely manufactured product of this age’s fascination with celebrity. A master of self-promotion, she has used the new media to turn herself into a pop-culture star the same way that Paris Hilton is a “star.”
It’s not about what they do – because they don’t do much, it’s who ty are.
So all of this, no matter how it turns out, won’t hurt her any.
But, if you’re a Chargers fan, you can’t be happy with Merriman.
He’s their 3-time All-Bowl defensive super-star who missed the entirety of the 2008 season due to a knee injury that required major reconstruction.
This is what they hear about him on his comeback? That he’s pulling all-nighters a week before opening day with one of the world’s most famous party girls?
Like everyone else, what Merriman does off the field is his own business. If he chooses to associate with a walking talking blow-up doll whose chief assets were surgically implanted that’s up to him.
However as a professional athlete who is supported by fans buying tickets he should be taking his job a bit more seriously. Clearing his name will take a lot more than having Tequila’s seemingly silly accusations turned over.
As for the NFL itself, Merriman became the fifth Charger to be arrested just this year – not a good reflection on Commissioner Goodell’s call for personal responsibility.
And ironically enough, this all happened just a few days after the NFL limited the use of Twitter by its players.
After Merriman’s Tequila Sunrise, they are probably thinking about going a wee bit further.
Cheers – Gavin McDougald – AKA Couch
