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Rashard Mendenhall recently got himself into trouble thanks to some comments on Twitter. The Steelers Running Back sent out a series of tweets following the news that American forces had killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.

Some of the more controversial tweets include:

"What kind of person celebrates death? It's amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. We've only heard one side…"

"We'll never know what really happened. I just have a hard time believing a plane could take a skyscraper down demolition style"

The comments caused quite a stir, prompting Mendenhall to come out with a response which included:

"This controversial statement was something I said in response to the amount of joy I saw in the event of a murder," Mendenhall said in a blog posting. "I don't believe that this is an issue of politics or American pride; but one of religion, morality, and human ethics."

"I wasn't questioning Bin Laden's evil acts. I believe that he will have to face God for what he has done. I was reflecting on our own hypocrisy. During 9/11 we watched in horror as parts of the world celebrated death on our soil. Earlier this week, parts of the world watched us in horror celebrating a man's death."

The situation has already cost Mendenhall his sponsorship deal with Champion sports apparel. Will it end up costing him any more?


Fantasy Outlook:
Feel free to agree or disagree with anything Mendenhall has said, but this isn't likely to have any effect on his role in Pittsburgh. The damage may be done, but there is plenty of time before the season starts (fingers crossed) for the impact to soften. We're comfortable that he will be more careful with his Twitter account and this subject in particular.

Regardless, Mendenhall had the 6th highest percentage of carries in the NFL last year with 77.33% and a total of 324 attempts (see Workhorse Backs). It's hard to imagine him being challenged by Isaac Redman, Mewelde Moore, or 7th round draft pick Baron Batch out of Texas Tech.