and he'll always be remembered as that asshole that went roid mode in front of 60 million viewers
See, this is part of the problem. Why does he have to be an asshole? All he did was speak his mind. You can't fault the man for speaking his mind about a situation where he feels he was slighted. Sports isn't all about physical play but mental and psychological as well. You have to do and say things to get the advantage, pull out the win and/or have all eyes on you and now all eyes are on him. He is the type of athlete that thrives on that and it's not because he is an attention whore it is because it helps him prove something to himself which in turn proves something to you.
You think Jack Tatum or Ted Hendricks didn't speak their mind? Do you think we would have a Mayweather, Ali or Tyson if they didn't speak their minds? You think Billy Martin was an asshole for kicking up dust on every ump in MLB? You think Shaq was an asshole for cussing on live tv about Stern and cussing even more when he was reminded of it? You think John Mcenroe ever gave a fuck in his life?
I know all of this is falling on deaf ears but come on man. This is FOOTBALL. Football is a dangerous sport and at any given second you can get leveled and never come back PERIOD. So all this shit about class and all of that, save it because it is part of the game, culture and entertainment. Personally, I don't like seeing sycophants, I like iconoclasts and people who are outspoken when they need to be and that is what separated him from others, he is outspoken when he needs to be.