Ohio State's tremendously talented quarterback Terrelle Pryor wore a piece of eye black before Saturday's game with the word "Vick" on it. Here's what he said after the game about it.

I've never had a problem with athletes speaking out or having opinions. A lot of people do, both fans and members of the media. I had this very conversation with Kelly Webster from ESPN radio last week in the Cowboys locker room; we were talking about Martellus Bennett. We both love the guy and think he's entertaining - even if not he's not always funny - and he's basically harmless. But we consider him a breath of fresh air. I know of one beat writer who has said that he would prefer Bennett keep his mouth shut until he's done something (I won't say who that beat writer is, because I like the guy and don't want to get into any he-said he-said thing).

Point is, fans and media are split on this - some of us prefer athletes to have an opinion and say what's on their mind, even if it doesn't always come out right. Some prefer athletes to stay away from subjects about which they have no expertise.

Earlier this summer, Bennett posted a video on youtube of him and his brother competing in "The Black Olympics."
Jean Jacques Taylor responded with this column. I didn't think anything of the video (but I'm white, so maybe that has something to do with it). To me, it's just Bennett being goofy, and trying to be funny. I'm just glad I had neither the technology nor the inclination to take videos of myself when I was 22 years old. I think all of us would admit we didn't have all our stuff together at that age.

Back to Pryor, I read the article (link below) and saw his sound bite after the game, and I didn't see anything malicious. I think I know what Pryor was trying to say about Vick; he just didn't say it right. But who at 20 years old is able to express himself perfectly when asked a question while surrounded by reporters? Maybe his best course of action would have been to say, "I'll keep my reasons for supporting Vick to myself." But then a faction of the media would have criticized him for that.

If you have time, check out this article from Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! sports. It's well-written and dives into more than just the situation at Ohio State. Also, take the time to compare his re-printed quotes in the article with the youtube video of him actually saying the words, and the tone is a little different.

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