The Halls of Shame
The latest case of "athletes gone wild" has really perplexed me unlike any other recent event. NY Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burres' shot himself in the leg while at a NY nightclub. Burres' will be not only charged with illegal gun possession, he was suspended by the Giants for the remainder of the season jeopardizing his multi-million dollar contract.
I was disturbed by the revelation from Rev. Al Sharpton that representatives from Burress's camp contacted his office. Why would Sharpton be contacted? To mount a public relations assault no doubt but could it have been to paint Burres' punishment as excessive based on race? Possibly. After Michael Vick's self destruction, Marion Jones , Adam "Pac Man" Jones, Ricky Williams multiple weed infractions, and let's not forget to countless tales of serial siring have forever tainted the image of the modern day black athlete.
The arrest records of black NFL'ers is only dwarfed by their college graduation rates. According to the book Pros and Cons: The criminals who play in the NFL, 1 out of 5 NFL players are charged with crimes-the most serious being rape, murder and assault. What's worse of the wagon circling that takes place when these pompous pro's get themselves in hot water. Burres' actions were indefensible and anything short of a complete mea culpa was unacceptable. Contacting attack dogs like Rev Al does not serve him well. To Sharpton's credit, he chose not to get involved. If Sharpton doesn't want to associate with you, you must have done something really stupid.
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