Ray Lewis says his retirement from the Baltimore Ravens has left a leadership void with the Super Bowl defending champs.
And as Exhibit A, Lewis tells USA Today the widely reported incident where receiver Jacoby Jones was allegedly hit over the head with a champagne bottle by a stripper known as Sweet Pea "would have never happened on my watch."
"We talk about the transition of losing so many guys, a guy like myself and Ed Reed and other guys that are based off leadership," Lewis told the newspaper. " I've said it earlier where would the leadership come from?' Because the leadership being strong in the locker room and winning games, listen - talent sometimes can win you games. But when you talk about what's going on off the field, that's the most important place where leadership steps up".
Already recovering from a freak injury where his own teammate ran into him on a punt return, Jones reportedly was on a party bus Sunday night when he was struck over the head by the bottle-wielding stripper.
"When you think about the Baltimore Ravens and the transition that they went through, they're missing leadership right now," Lewis added to the newspaper. "When you have an incident like that, the first thing a leader is going to do is find some way to dissolve everything that's going on and actually dissolve it before it comes to that type of head or even gets to this point. When you talk about the Baltimore Ravens they're going to have to refocus and find some quick leaders in that locker room very quickly."
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