It's very early in his career. He screwed up. He's being accountable, at least ostensibly. Let's get this four game suspension out of the way, chalk it up as a learning experience, and hope Bruce has a solid 5-8 years as a successful pass rusher for the Seahawks.
I don't pretend to understand the pressure these guys are under to maximize their ability and performance on the field. Their career is so finite. We have all said that Bruce doesn't appear to be well prepared to have near the finincial success outside of football as he does in it. He knows it as well. He doesn't have an advanced degree, not super articulate, doesn't have a long history of vocational expertise. Guys like this will NEVER have the earning power like they do right now. This is probably scary as hell. Knowing that the industry is so competitive and injury prone puts an enormous onus on these guys to give themselves every advantage available.
This is not an excuse per we, but a reason. There are always reasons for our behaviors, whether they be good or bad. Human behavior is really a study in incentives. Risk vs. reward. The dilemma these guys face might tempt many of us if we were in the same position, now keep in mind that Bruce is from a far different place than many of us, hence his incentives for taking a banned substance might be made with less rational thought than they would for us. His glasses are probably not as clear as ours are.
Yes it sucks, yes I'm dissapointed, but I'm not going to judge this kid. It's easy for us to say "I would never do it if I were him". Truth be told, I'm a son of a banker whose college was partially paid for by my patents, I have no idea what it's like to be him. If I had the adversity and challenges Bruce faced as a youth, I would probably be locked up somewhere, not in the NFL. I'm glad he got caught, and I'm glad he got caught early, hopefully this can change his perspective on things and he has learned his lesson. It's the first four games, we will survive , and I hope he comes out of the gate with incredible desire to prove himself in game five.
