The Oakland Raiders have been disappointed in Rolando McClain for more than one reason. His play on the field has not come close to living up to the expectations that came with being a high first round pick. And to make matters worse, he was a guy that was supposed to be a leader of the team, instead, he has turned into an off the field headache for the Raiders.
The first off of the field incident came when McClain was the victim of a drive by shooting back in January of 2011. Luckily for McClain and the Raiders, he was unhurt in the incident. However, it is rare that these things happen to a random person who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. While it is certainly possible that is what happened to McClain, at the very least, this raised some eyebrows.
Then, in December of 2011, McClain was arrested and charged with third degree assault. This time, he was accused of helping beat up a man, and of shooting a gun right next to the man's head, in a threatening gesture. The arrest came just days before the Raiders got trounced as they traveled to play the Miami Dolphins.
Now, as McClain starts his trial, more bad news has surfaced for the Raiders starting middle linebacker.
McClain started his trial this morning and it did not start the way he would have hoped. First, a video of the events in question was leaked yesterday. While McClain is not shown doing any of the things he is accused of, the scene is not a good one, and clearly shows a violent atmosphere that it would not be hard for jurors to see escalating into what McClain is charged of.
Then, this morning, it was discovered that McClain's co-defendant has decided to take a plea bargain in exchange for testifying against McClain at trial. This is probably the worst news that McClain could have received on his first day of trial. While not all of the evidence is known yet, this has to be a major chink in the armor of his defense. Should McClain be found guilty, the Raiders very well could be looking for someone else to start at middle linebacker for the first few games of the season, as a Roger Goodell suspension would surely be coming after a conviction.
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