Hooray! Gareon Conley was not indicted on rape or sexual assault accusations. It was all smiles from GM Reggie McKenzie as he was asked about the news. His first round pick agreed to a contract with the team after the legal issue was resolved.
After the Raiders selected Conley in NFL Draft, I wrote a piece that said this entire situation should make Raiders fans uncomfortable. Of course, Conley was always innocent until proven guilty but this entire ordeal perpetuated the Raiders stereotype for drafting players with questionable character. Granted, this has changed over the past few years but that was the mainstream perspective.
On a deeper level, we can’t act like this did not happen either. At the very least, Conley is guilty of bad judgment. All accounts say that he is a great guy with great character but he allowed himself to be put in that situation. Hopefully, this is one small blemish on a perfect public persona. Conley should learn not to trust everyone or every situation. Otherwise, another mess up could completely destroy his public image.
At the end of the day, this is a very sensitive matter. Conley could easily be our brother, best friend or son. The same is said for the woman who accused him. She could be our daughter, bestie or sister. Either way, we wouldn’t want someone close to us to be on either side of the spectrum. Conley will lose the benefit of the doubt due to these false accusations. The woman will receive all types of threats and hate for these accusations.
Ultimately, this woman needs help if she made up these accusations. IF something did happen, even if the court dismissed any illegal mishappenings, she still needs help and support. Conley will need some help with his image but good football play will overcome these dismissed accusations. Just ask Ben Roethlisberger. And if Conley did get off on something than he may need help too.
Nonetheless, it is great that this ugly chapter is finally behind Conley, the Raiders and us. We can all stop talking about this and allow the two young people to continue their lives. Hopefully, they can both recovery from this situation.
