For some reason, and I can't place my finger on it, I decided to look at the sports glass as half empty. Gone was my hero worship of my younger day. It has been replaced with skepticism, research into gambling rings (some of which I had to stop, but that is another story for another day), wondering why certain spreads and events happened, reading about drugs in sports, and looking at how connections work in the worlds of college and pro sports (you know, the good old boys clubs).
I still remember one day as clear as if it happened yesterday. I was a Cowboys fan when I was a little kid and Roger Staubach was my idol. It was always a BIG DEAL when I would watch the Cowboys on TV. My parents always gave me TV "right of way" to watch my guy. You see, we didn't have cable back then, and there was no satellite. We couldn't afford those things at that time anyway. Not complaining (I never do) just sayin'. I had to rely on seeing the Cowboys on network broadcasts. For some reason, Pat Summerall had a lot of those broadcasts. I wonder if he had a home close to the Dallas area. But I digress.
The day I remember so clearly was one in which I received an autographed photo of Roger Staubach. It was winter, and I would guess my age as being around 9 or 10. I had just played a basketball game against someone and more than likely didn't see much playing time on the floor as usual. My mom for some reason brought that photo along to give to me that day. Maybe it was to cheer me up because I sucked at basketball so much, maybe she had just gotten the mail on the way over. Whatever the reason, I almost sh1t my pants. Here my idol had received the letter I wrote him, and he had taken the time to sign a photo and mail it to me. I still have that photo. It is really signed by a person. Whether Roger signed it or not is a mystery that will probably never be solved, but it made for a great memory for me.
I have no such interest in athletes of this day and age. If someone told me that my favorite player was across the street I would be hard pressed to walk over there and shake their hand. I simply don't care as much about these people as I used to. I don't have as much time as I used to, and the leagues that they work for and things they do off the field, at times, repulse me. I would probably cross the street to meet Matt Forte - that guy seems like a class act so far, although he has only played one year thus far.
This week I read two stories that are far apart, but share the same theme. PJ Hill, the star running back of the UW football team for the last several years, has in the last month received DUI's in two separate incidents, and is lined up for several felony charges here in Madison for leading the cops on a chase and crashing into some property. Reports say he had to be arrested at gunpoint. This is a man who was trying to position himself for the upcoming NFL draft. I saw a funny headline somewhere that said "PJ Hill hates money" and I cracked up. Apparently he does.
The second story is about Travis Henry. Unbelievably, this former NFL player has nine kids, each with a different mother. Henry was an elite NFL running back and was probably raking in some large $$. But now he says he is broke. Nine alimony/child support payments will do that to you, I suppose. Wouldn't you maybe think about a certain surgery after the fourth or fifth one? Still will probably be diseased to the nines, but at least you won't be making any more kids. Oh, Henry is under house arrest in Denver for his upcoming cocaine trafficking trial.
The list of NFL and college football criminals is very long. I don't mean to pick on Hill or Henry, but their two recent stories are part of an all too familiar matter in pro sports. These people simply do not have any real life training. College and NFL teams should do something to try to educate these behemoth athletes that impregnating 9 chicks is NOT smart (just how many did he actually have sex with to get so many pregnant?). Nor is getting a bunch of charges filed against you as you get ready to impress scouts and agents looking for a good RB in the draft.
If you are set up to rake in millions of dollars in a short time frame, it is not wise to have a "posse" or buy a $50m mansion like MC Hammer did. He is broke too. So is Mike Tyson. The NFL, in it's defense, says it tries, but whatever they are doing is isn't working. Hey, don't beat up your wife guys, like Ahman Green did a bunch of times. Stop driving your car at 120! Maybe fame and fortune simply destroys people. But you look at a guy like Tiki Barber - he seems to have done well for himself as have many others. Al Toon locally here in Madison seems also to have done very well.
A theory I have long held, that is simply not provable, is that many of these athletes come from such chaotic and insane upbringings that they have no sense of right and wrong. Can they add? You would think they would be able to see how bad their "posse" is milking them of their hard earned coin and jettison that dead weight. But sadly, no.
Which brings me to The Mind of Maurice Clarett. I stumbled upon this name that I hadn't seen in a while while trolling the intertubes. Lets look him up. Yep, in jail. For those of you who don't know, Clarett was the star running back for tOSU just a few years ago when they won the national championship. To say he got into some trouble is an understatement. Read that wiki for an eye opening tour into the "Mind of Maurice Clarett". He had it ALL waiting in front of him and spiked his own career. Now he sits in a jail cell, and is not able to help raise his almost 3 year old girl.
Incarceration is a huge inconvenience in anyone's life. It has inconvenienced me in the area of having a personal relationship with my little girl.
That last quote is from Maruice Clarett's blog. Yes, apparently in the Ohio jail system you are allowed to blog*. I almost wretched when I read that line. That f*cker is "inconvenienced". Really now. What about society? What about all of Clarett's debtors? If you read Clarett's blog you will see some things that make Clarett out to be a nice guy - he sounds humble and all the rest. But odds are that when he gets out of jail he will be no more of a father to that little girl than he is now. I have nothing to base that last sentence on than my personal opinion. That just seems like it is the way it goes.
The NFL and major college programs should do themselves a favor and try harder to give these guys some life choice classes. Or maybe they just don't care as long as the money is coming in. Either way, it is disheartening to read and see what goes on "outside the lines", as ESPN likes to say.
*The Wiki entry states that Clarett does not have internet access at his prison, and that he sends his entries to family members who post them on his blog. My error.
1 comments:
Only the best at OSU
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