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From SeeingBlack.com Sports/Gaming
Adam “Pacman” Jones, the star cornerback for the Tennessee Titans, was allegedly was involved in a violent confrontation with a bouncer and a dancer (stripper) that resulted in a shooting, leaving three wounded and one paralyzed from the waist down at a downtown nightclub ( strip bar) during the February NBA All-Star weekend in Las Vegas. After a feel-good football season, this particular incident has brought more attention--and it should--to the criminal element plaguing some African American football players outside of the playing field. To be perfectly blunt, it's players like Pacman and his kind that have created a stigma of criminal behavior for all Black football players in the NFL, when they actually represent a very small percentage of all active players. I wasn’t in Las Vegas at the night club where the incident occurred but, based on eye witness reports, this is what happened: During a part of the entertaiment, Pacman played this game called “Falling Rain” were he takes a bunch of money, throws it in the air and makes it rain with cash. As usual, one of the dancers started to pick up some of the money, which, for some reason, infuriated Pacman so much that he proceeded to grab the dancer by the hair and slam her face to the stage. Let me repeat that--grab her by the hair and slam her face to the stage. Has the brother lost his mind? Didn’t his mother teach him better? Is da’ nigga’ crazy? This act of violence reportedly precipitated a bar room fight and a subsequent shooting outside the club. Off-field criminal acts in the NFL have been escalating in recent years and the president of the NFL Players Association Gene Upshaw, along with the NFL, have agreed in principle to a new player conduct policy, which stipulates that a player could be suspended one year for repeated criminal behavior. This policy should be called the “Pacman Rule.” (FYI Adam Jones has been arrested five times since he’s been in the league.) If suspended, the player will need to apply to the league for reinstatement. The policy will also include a provision with possible sanctions for teams with large numbers of players with repeat criminal offenses. This policy could mean that a number of brothers, and I mean brothers, could be possibly looking for a new gig. The most popular sport in America has been under siege with off-field crimes ranging from murder, attempted murder, drive-bys, assaults and domestic violence. The NFL is not going to sit idly by and let the golden goose lay a real egg. Why should I let this concerned me? Well, because guys like Pacman do not represent me or the brothers I know. But I look in the mirror every morning and I see a Black man and he’s a Black man too and I’m gripped by the thought that this country sees him as Black man who doesn’t have any common sense or common decency in the community. It exasperates me, I want my people, Black folks, to have the brightest light shown on us not the worst light. I resent the fact that I have to hear about this crap on the radio and on the boob tube about a football player, a multi-million dollar player, acting like a thug. I hear the announcers, who are predominately White, report stories like this and have a field day with their opinions. What I really hear, in between the lines of commentary, is “ here’s another Black athelete acting like a..." Well, you know the rest. Robby Brown enjoys sports in around his home in Silver Spring, Md. © Copyright by SeeingBlack.com |
