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Bucs without Pittman for first three games
BY GLENN MILLER
FLORIDA TODAY
TAMPA -- The suspense is over. The suspension has yet to begin.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Michael Pittman, who played in 2003 under a cloud of uncertainty because of a domestic dispute incident more than a year ago, has been suspended by the NFL for the first three games of the 2004 season.
When the Bucs open the season at the Washington Redskins on Sept. 12, Pittman will not be eligible. He will also miss the home opener Sept. 19 against Seattle and a Sept. 26 game at Oakland.
The league announced the suspension Tuesday. Pittman is eligible to work out with the team during this week's mini-camp and training camp and play in Tampa Bay's four preseason games.
"I just have to do what I have to do," Pittman said Tuesday. "And you know it could be a lot worse than what it was, but I accepted it and my coaches accepted it."
In May 2003, Pittman was driving a Hummer H2 when he rammed a vehicle driven by his wife, Melissa. The couple's infant son and a babysitter were with Melissa. Pittman later pleaded guilty to a charge of endangerment and served a 14-day sentence in Arizona.
Pittman believes accounts of the incident in Phoenix have been exaggerated.
"The media makes it like I go into a rage," Pittman said. "People use the words 'rammed,' 'bashed' and 'thumped.' These are wrong words. It was a miscommunication. It was an accident and that's what it was."
His NFL penalty will cost him three games and five paychecks. He won't be paid for the games he misses and will also be docked pay for the next two games. That will cost him about $441,000.
Pittman will be eligible to play beginning Oct. 3 when the Broncos visit Raymond James Stadium.
Miller, a staff writer at the Fort Myers News-Press, covers the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for FLORIDA TODAY.
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