Tila Tequila v. Shawne Merriman

Getting outside of politics for one day, I wanted to write a little bit about the Shawne Merriman/Tila Tequila incident that occurred on Sunday evening.  I am, after all, a huge, huge Charger fan.  At the same time, I am currently a NBA fan without a team because of the Kobe Bryant incident in Colorado.  Still, there is a difference between the NBA and the NFL.  For one, San Diego doesn't have a NBA team.  Plus, the Chargers are in no way wedded to any player, not even LaDanian Tomlinson, so Merriman can go at any time.

This is a long way of saying that I'm completely conflicted about this.  Or rather, I have no idea what or who to believe.  Is it possible that Tila Tequila is telling the truth, and that Merriman struck her, choked her and tried to keep her in his home.  Yes, that's entirely possible.  Unfortunately, there are a fair number of NFL players, even the "good" guys who beaten the women close to them.  If the whole O.J. thing taught us, its that you don't know these guys at all.  Moreover, football is a violent sport and takes a certain kind of mentality to succeed.  Linebackers are known especially for their aggressiveness and ability to get angry fast, because they need that to run through a line, beat off the block of a man 50 lbs. heavier and put a hurting on a someone.  Then again, Merriman doesn't have a history of domestic violence.

At the same time, and not to attack the victim here, but Tila Tequila isn't exactly the most reliable witness.  She tweets that she's allergic to alcohol and so she never drinks, but also tweets about being drunk.  She cleverly used MySpace, and later MTV, to bolster her career by appearing to be promiscuous and bisexual.  Her whole image is based on being a party girl - the kind of girl who'd get drunk and crazy.

And ultimately, its that image that makes Merriman's claim that he was restraining Ms. Tequila to prevent her from driving drunk believable.  Can I believe that Tila Tequila got drunk at a nightclub?  Yes, yes, I think I can.  Can I believe an intoxicated Tila Tequila decided to drive home drunk?  Absolutely - particularly if she got into an argument with Merriman.  Can I see Merriman trying to prevent her from driving drunk?  Of course!  After all, the last he would want is the attention he'd get from having Tequila arrested driving drunk when coming home from his house (ironic, I know).

The other question I have is about the extent of Tequila's physical injuries.  Shawne Merriman weighs around 270 pounds, Tequila weighs around 95 pounds.  Merriman hurts people professionally, and does it well.  So, how could an enraged, and probably drunken, Merriman not have left a mark on her?  He leaves marks on men who weigh over 300 lbs, and are covered head to toe in body armor.  She claims he hit her, choked her and held her down - but there's nary a mark.

I guess what I saying is that I just don't know.