The Raiders Made a Big Mistake by Not Releasing Rolando McClain

Rolando McClain has been arrested in Alabama again, this time for giving a false name to a police officer according to the Seth Burkett of the Decatur Daily.

McClain was arrested and convicted by a judge for allegedly firing a gun next to the ear of a friend in 2011, but the conviction was overturned. The Raiders also suspended McClain for two games for conduct detrimental to the team at the end of the season and didn’t activate him for the final two games.

The charges against McClain aren’t likely to stick, but the charges aren’t nearly as condemning as his childish behavior during the incident. If it wasn’t crystal clear before, the Raiders should have released McClain a long time ago and made a big mistake by not moving on from him earlier.

According to the report, when asked for a driver’s license and proof of insurance by the officer that pulled him over for his window tint, McClain said, “You know who I am.” McClain twice refused to roll up his windows so the officer could check his window tint and provided a letter for the tint that a supervising officer confirmed was not sufficient.

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Rolando McClain signed a citation for overly dark window tint as “(Expletive) y’all,” Decatur police said. #Raiders

— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) January 9, 2013"

McClain also refused to talk to the supervising officer that showed up to help and proceeded to sign “(Expletive) y’all” on the ticket he received even though he was instructed that he could clear up the matter with proper documentation from his doctor on his court date. McClain refused to sign his name on the ticket.

It’s McClain’s attitude and maturity that remain issues. No one cares that McClain has tinted windows, with or without a doctor’s note. The ticket for the tint could be totally unfair and unjust, but this type of thing probably happens on a near weekly basis and we never hear about it because it’s a routine traffic ticket.

If McClain had complied with the officer and provided his doctor’s note, he probably doesn’t even get a ticket. It’s probably not worth the officer’s time to ticket McClain for something that he’ll ultimately be able to clear up with his doctor. Even if the officer still ticketed McClain, all he had to do was sign the ticket and provide further documentation on his court date.

If McClain can’t act like an adult, he no longer deserves to have a job. The Raiders have given McClain more than enough opportunities. When you consider his on-the-field play, two arrests and team suspension, McClain has been given at least four strikes.

Before driving away from Decatur City Hall, McClain reportedly said "I'm falsely accused of everything. It's corrupt. It's terrible"

It could be a conspiracy against McClain in his hometown, but if that’s the case don’t you have to ask why? McClain played for Alabama and he should be a local hero and instead the cops look for any excuse to put him behind bars. What possible reason could the cops have to go after McClain unless he’s got a reputation as a troublemaker? It doesn’t even make sense.

This story is getting old and the Raiders can’t continue to keep McClain around to give the franchise a black eye. Mistakes happen and guys need time to mature, but McClain should know better by now. McClain was sold as the anti-JaMarcus Russell, but seems to be flaming out just as spectacularly.

McClain’s work ethic might be significantly better than Russell’s was, but without maturity it doesn’t matter. Releasing McClain is now significantly past due and the Raiders shouldn’t hesitate to make the move. From this point forward the Raiders will lose a lot of credibility if McClain stays on the roster.