In one of the most bizarre sports media stories of the year, especially in Chicago, Roquan Smith has announced he will play in London against the Raiders this Sunday.
This comes after Smith was unexpectedly scratched from the Vikings game for "personal reasons" sending panic through the Chicago Bears fan base. In an attempt to provide clarity, let's examine the events that unfolded.
Roquan Smith Is Out
Less than two hours before kickoff against Minnesota the Chicago Bears Twitter account posted the following.
Panic Sets In
Smith is arguably the most reliable tackler on the Bears defense, Akiem Hicks was already ruled out and Delvin Cook was coming to town ... fans naturally thought something serious must be going on, especially when they found out he wasn't hurt.
This panic fueled some of the replies below the tweet indicating
"Roquan Smith (personal reasons) out."
As you can see, the replies were a mix of concern, confusion and disappointment.
What knowledge can we gain from this? The entire city was caught off guard and immediately concerned. This simply demonstrates that this situation was out of the ordinary from the start.
Devil's Advocate: If the reason is personal, let it be personal.
When you are a multi-millionaire because you play sports, your personal life becomes more public than most. Smith was no exception. Once the Bears said it was "personal" speculation ran wild.
The Car Accident
When speculation runs wild, the Internet has no boundary. This particular story immediately took on two narratives.
One side just assumed Smith was sick in some way, maybe related to mental illness, so they chose to respect his privacy.
The other side assumed Smith was in some kind of trouble.
The trouble narrative hit first.
At 8:30pm @TomlinDoesIt tweeted out a photo of a white Ferari, with cherry red seats, that was involved in a hit and run. The crash took place in the Fulton River District near the West Loop. Tomlin's tweet indicated that the car could belong to Smith.
Sports Mockery, 670 the Score, Bartsool and many other media outlets wrote about this possibility. Those publications were met head on from the side that believes Smith was "sick" in some way, or dealing with another kind of sensitive personal matter that shouldn't involve the media. Many questioned if the rumor had any validity at all.
After those stories were published, several other Chicago fans came forward saying they've seen Smith in a white Ferrari with cherry red seats before, specifically during Week 1 at the team hotel. They indicated Taylor Gabriel has a matching red one and they were on display for fan photo opportunities at the hotel. We talked with more than one fan that claimed to have these photos but refused to share them because they "didn't want to get Roquan in trouble." Not sharing the photos left two conclusions, either they were lying and it was all made up..... or they were simply die-hard Bears fans that spoke up but then backtracked when asked to be directly involved.
What knowledge can we gain from this? A wealthy person crashed their white Ferrari in the West Loop late Saturday night, just about 12 hours before Smith was ruled out of the game, and left the scene. Some fans claimed the car was Smith's, but didn't produce any proof.
Circumstantial evidence does exist though, see the video below. Notice the person examining the vehicle just happens to be decked out in all Chicago Bears colors, including orange shoes. I mean, what are the odds?
To be clear, nobody thinks that is Roquan ... he appears too short. However, many find it odd that someone decked out in all Chicago Bears colors just happened to be at the scene of the crime before the police examining the vehicle.
Devil's Advocate: There are a lot of white Ferrari's in Chicago. 670 the Score claimed they had a police report from this crash and Roquan's name wasn't on it.
Adam Schefter Says It's Not His Car
Virtually out of nowhere, Adam Schefter bursts onto the scene (with other Chicago media) to kill the rumor. On ESPN1000, Schefter said the car involved in the crash was not Roquan's. Jarrett Payton, son of Bears great Walter, also tweeted that it wasn't Roquan's car.
Schefter went on to say that Smith just hasn't been acting like himself this week and the words "erratic behavior" started to get tossed around. This is the point in the story where the side that thinks Roquan was "sick" enters heavily.
Once Schefter, Payton and others worked to squash the car accident rumor the other side started a "mental illness" rumor. This was a bit more potent because it involves someone's medical well-being which is normally an area the media stays far away from when it doesn't concern them. Nobody said Smith was suffering from "mental illness" it was simply the narrative the "sick" side ran with after hearing Schefter say his behavoir was erratic.
What knowledge can we gain from this? Adam Schefter likely wouldn't risk his reputation spreading the wrong information, many concluded the car wasn't Smith's and ruled out the accident after his remarks. However, his remarks not only ruled out the car, they shed light on something completely unexpected ... "erratic behavior" which was summarized as "mental illness" by the Twitter-sphere.
Devil's Advocate: Many know ESPN operates primarily on the East and West Coast, how often does Schefter give us breaking Chicago news? Answer, not often. One can only assume Schefter felt compelled to squash the rumor himself after seeing the story pick up steam, but that might be mis-guided. A better theory would be that the Chicago Bears reached out to trusted sources to squash the narrative. This doesn't mean it was true or shouldn't have been squashed, but the actions of Schefter and Payton indicate strongly that the Bears released a timed message to those "in the know."
The Most Confusing Part
At this point we have nothing more than a vague ruling and lots of rumors that many believe were squashed. Supporting Schefter's statement, fans started to speculate even further but one thing throws most narratives way off .... why was he on the sideline?
If Smith truly is mentally ill, and wasn't himself all week, shouldn't he be seeking direct help rather than standing on the sideline?
If Smith was truly involved in a legal problem, possibly a car crash, wouldn't he be in jail instead of on the sideline?
The presence of Smith on the sideline is incredibly conflicting to the possible narratives. This could mean one of two things.
#1. Him being on the sideline was a mistake. If mental health or something along those lines is truly the problem, maybe the Bears didn't think being on the sideline for the game would make it any worse. Furthermore, because he was such a late scratch maybe just standing there made the most sense in the moment.
#2. The problem isn't nearly as severe as people think. If it was a possible death in the family, sickness or some other type of personal emergency you'd imagine Smith would have been somewhere else on Sunday, but he wasn't. This leads you to believe the problem may not be that bad.
What knowledge can we gain from this? Smith likely isn't in legal trouble. A suspension or banning him from the sideline would likely be the result if it was legal woes.
Devil's Advocate: Completely ruling out the legal side at this point might be pre-mature, an investigation could be underway.
Chicago Media Is Bewildered
The Chicago Bears have been around for a long time and so have the people covering the team. Therefore, when longtime media personality Hub Arkish comes out and says this is the most bizarre thing he has ever seen, fans take notice.
"Hard to imagine a story more puzzling than the Roquan Smith saga" was his blog title. Arkish is a dinosaur in Chicago media, if it surprised him it should surprise everyone. He has been covering sports for decades, over four of them to be exact.
The Chicago Sun-Times jumped in as well. Mark Potash wrote a story titled "Bears can't avoid Roquan Smith explanation forever" hinting that the team may be hiding something and it was the fans' right to know. This particular publication was also blasted by the side of the fan base that thinks he's "sick", based on Schefter's comments.
Many of those replies have very valid comments and it's clear Potash was aiming for attention by his tweet introducing the article. Whether or not the fans have a right to know is beyond the scope of this article, but it's safe to say the opinions vary.
What knowledge can we gain from this? There have been some very sensitive stories in Chicago media over the last few years. Ray McDonald, Tank Williams, Sam Hurd, Patrick Kane, Ben Zobrist ... the list goes on. However, this particular story is labeled as one of the weirdest things Arkish has ever seen. Just last year Everson Griffen of the Minnesota Vikings was battling mental health issues, that subject doesn't qualify as "bizarre." It is very serious and very private, but not bizarre. Sports Illustrated, NFL.com, Bleacher Report and many others wrote positively about Griffen and rallied the fan base behind his recovery. If Smith was mentally ill, why wouldn't the Bears rip that page out of the Viking playbook? Maybe they will ....
Devil's Advocate: It is private, private matters should be kept private.
Roquan Finally Speaks
After two days of sheer speculation, Smith addressed the media Wednesday. His message was short and can be summarized saying he will play Sunday and the personal issue he dealt with is behind him. That's it.
Other notes ... Smith did not appear to have the least bit of remorse, sadness or guilt. Watch the video below, look at his body language. All the fans treating this as a "sad" scenario might be looking at it the wrong way.
This would echo what teammate Danny Trevathan said, he told the media he was there to support Roquan but he probably "wasn't as concerned as you guys" [the media]. This would indicate the problem isn't that severe, right?
Unfortunately, that appears to be the exact opposite of what Khalil Mack said. Mack said Smith will "get better."
What knowledge can we gain from this? Nothing, absolutely nothing. However, if you think this is over, think again. Misaligned narratives from teammates plus a lack of remorse from Smith would indicate the problem wasn't that serious. Proof comes when Smith indicated it is already behind him. How did this problem go from "extremely serious," based on the "sick" narrative, to already being behind him?
Devil's advocate: The situation is personal, leave it there.
Conclusion
At the end of the day everyone wants the best for Smith. He has been nothing short of superb on the field since joining the Bears and fans would like to keep it that way.
If any kind of mental illness or medical situation is attached to this, Smith deserves his privacy and it is the Bears' job to clear media speculation and provide that to him. The team has somehow managed to sidestep that sticking to the "it's personal" narrative that drives speculation.
In a league that has recently seen Aaron Hernandez win a Super Bowl then go away for murder, Ray Rice beat his fiance in an elevator and deny it until proof surfaced and Ray McDonald repeatedly abuse women and children after given multiple chances - is it wrong for the fans to ask for more clarification on personal issues?
That depends on who you ask. You know what the Bears will say ... "it's personal."
Roqaun Smith is not the individuals above and does not deserve to be compared to them, but it is the flaw in the NFL's messaging that produces situations like this. Players have been exposed hiding behind this system for years and fans have taken notice.
We wish you the best #58.
