Brandon Marshall kept his word that nothing was off-limits during his first appearance on Showtime’s “Inside the NFL” on Tuesday. That included talking about the league’s new policy on domestic violence.
The Bears receiver candidly weighed in on the issue from a personal perspective in his new role as a regular analyst on the show. Marshall was twice arrested on domestic violence allegations but was acquitted in one case and the charges were dropped in the other. He was suspended for three games in 2008 for personal conduct violations.
When Boomer Esiason asked if the new policy had been in place back then, would it have been a deterrent for Marshall, he replied he “really didn’t see fault in myself” as a young player.
Marshall said he was a product of a volatile home environment as a child and that contributed to his problems.
“I’m just thankful I’m in a position where I can take my story and tell these guys, ‘Listen, you don’t have to be a product of your environment,’ ” Marshall said. “I went from being a problem in the locker room to being a guy where not only players, but coaches and executives come to me for advice. How we can change procedures to help these guys?”
Showtime sports general manager Stephen Espinoza said Marshall was apprised of the show’s complete rundown, including the domestic violence issue, during a call Monday afternoon.
“As we expected, he was willing to take on all topics,” Espinoza said after a taping of the show. “He spoke in a very authentic and honest way.”
At the top of the program, Marshall attempted to justify the commitment required to spend most of his Tuesday off days flying in and out of New York to tape the show. He is the first active player to be part of “Inside the NFL.”
“I have a question,” Marshall said. “What’s more detrimental to a team: a guy that is going out every Friday night, drinking, putting bad things in his body and has a game 36 hours away, or a guy on his day off flies to New York, an hour and a half flight, and talks a little football?”
Phil Simms, a member of the panel, quipped: “I know this, before the show started, he was in there (backstage) eating broiled chicken strips, asparagus, and some fruit.”
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According to Espinoza, Marshall flew on a private plane out of Chicago between 6:30 and 7 a.m. Tuesday. After landing in the New York area, he was in the Showtime studio by 10 a.m. Eastern. The taping for the one-hour show began at 11. He was headed back to the airport by 2:30 for the return flight to Chicago.
Espinoza said the taping went longer than normal Tuesday because it was the first show.
“We’re going to streamline it even more so it will have even less of an impact on his schedule,” Espinoza said.
Espinoza described Marshall as being “relaxed” on the set. He raved about a segment in which Marshall and future Hall of Fame defensive back Ed Reed discussed the new pass-interference rules.
“Frankly, Brandon was even better than we hoped,” Espinoza said. “He’s very natural and at ease in front of the camera.”
Special contributor Ed Sherman writes about sports media at shermanreport.com. Follow him @Sherman_Report