RUSH TO JUDGEMENT - Simeon Rice
An autobiography written in 2004
The BUCPOWER.COM review
Simeon has often been described during his career as a wild card, a loose cannon, someone
who flies by the seat of his pants, as Tom Cruise's flight officer would have said in "Top Gun".
Talented - without question. Outspoken - definitely.
"Rush to Judgment" is Simeon's book of his life. We have all seen the flood of books that appear
after a Super Bowl or World Series victory. Pro player talks into tape recorder for a few days, co-
author puts it into readable format, book is launched with great fanfare and fans flood to buy said
tome.
Perhaps this is no different but it is a book about one of the best Buccaneer players the franchise
has ever had and it does tell some very revealing stories about the man himself. This is the man
of course who gained national notoriety for his comments about former team-mate Pat Tillman,
and then got kicked off the 2003 Pro Bowl team in Hawaii.
The book tells the story of Simeon's life, from growing up in Chicago, through high school and
his days at the University of Illinois, to the years he spent playing in what he calls "the armpit of
the NFL", Arizona. he chapters that will have most relevance for Bucs fans, are the ones dealing
with his time in Tampa, and in particular the Super Bowl. They are interesting, well written and
particularly revealing. As are the parts that talk about other players on the Buccaneer roster such as the outspoken Warren Sapp.
"We had a rookie on the Bucs in 2002 (Russ Hochstein) whom Warren rode the hell out of for months. He was relentless. Finally this guy
was cut before we went to the Super Bowl and the team wasn't going to make him a ring. We all thought that sucked but it was Warren who
fought for the guy and got him his ring. When I found out, I asked Warren if he had called the guy to let him know. He said 'I ain't calling that
******* white boy'. That's Warren Sapp in a nutshell."
Co-author Mark Stewart has worked on a number of projects with pro players in the past and runs the excellent www.jockbio.com website.
He and Simeon have put together a book that deserves its place on the bookshelf of any self-respecting Buccaneer fan, but probably more
for the reason of Simeon being a Buc than any other.
Other reviews
"A non-filtered look at a rare man."-- ProFootballWeekly.com