What is with Black athletes carrying guns in the first place

By Gregory Moore

This past week I was watching First Take on ESPN and I caught Jemele Hill do a good job explaining cultural differences between professional athletes who are Black and non-Black and illustrate that a lot of the incidents with guns involving Black players is a microcasm of the Black on Black crime phenomenon.

I give Jemele credit. She held her own and did a pretty good job with the topic.

But you know what is really troubling and is something that nobody has really ever addressed?

Why are so many Black athletes carrying weapons to begin with.

I want to stay within the NFL community if possible because right now that seems to be where this story resides.

In preparation for this op/ed, I wanted to find out where the NFL stood on the topic of gun ownership. What I did was that I logged into the media side of NFL.com and found the league's guns and weapons policy.

In the policy's last two paragraphs it makes mention of a player's responsibility to understand the laws pertaining to ownership and the disciplinary sanctions that could come from breaking the law. The policy states: "If you legally possess a weapon, you must understand the local, state and federal laws that apply. The NFL Security Representative in your area will help you get information about these laws. You should be aware that if you take a weapon from one place to another—for example, across state lines—a different set of laws may apply in the new place. Discipline. If you violate this policy on guns and other weapons, you are subject to discipline, including suspension from playing. And if you violate a public law covering weapons—for example, possession of an unlicensed firearm—you are not only subject to discipline, including suspension from playing, but also subject to criminal prosecution."

The last line in the policy is something to take note. To the players and staff of the NFL it says, "Remember, be careful and understand the risks."

That last line is key because when it comes to player education, it's not something that is on the hierarchy of Black players to read these policies and heed their warnings where applicable.

Of course many will say that it is hard to tell a grown man what to do with his second amendment right and while no organization can forbid an individual from exercising that right, what they can do is make sure that all safety precautions are adhered to and that ample warnings of disciplinary measures are in "black and white".

So it is rather perplexing that there is this sentiment out there that believes that the NFL and/or the New York Giants was wrong in disciplining Plaxico Burress last week after he accidentally shot himself at a night club.

Once again the public is not privy to what the media knows about the rules, policies and regulations of the NFL and the public questions those policies because they fail to realize that you are dealing with a corporate enterprise; not some church or civic organization.

But what is also troubling is that there is a segment of the community that does not understand just how serious Burress' actions are to the whole.

Accidental shootings happen more often when there is alcohol involved than when the weapon is at home or locked away. Shootings, whether they are in self defense or done in a malicious intent, are very common outside of night clubs AFTER midnight than during any other time.

And what is also troubling is that many use the argument that players need to protect themselves because they are targets and that argument is used in the wrong context during general discussion.

PROTECTION AT HOME IS ONE THING; PROECTION IN PUBLIC IS 1-8-7

Nobody is saying that professional players should not be allowed to protect themselves.

If a player wants to protect his home, his property and his family, he can do so at his residence. Some players opt to have a firearm in the home and some players don't. In the case of Sean Taylor, Taylor didn't have a weapon to defend himself or his girlfriend and thusly he couldn't adequately defend himself from what became a lethal attack on himself that took his life later.

That is a reason why many players now have firearms at home now and that is a good reason.

But what is not a good reason is to take that firearm outside of the home and transport it to a place in public.

That is where I think both society and the players get the second amendment all mixed up.

That is why the NFL came out with their policy on gun ownership.

But in order to know the law, you have to read it.

You can pretty much make the assumption that pro athletes do not take the time to familiarize themselves with the laws and statues of where they reside during the season. They are quick to blame it on their hired help when in actuality it is the players' responsibility to know the laws of the land they reside in and then act accordingly.

And so when a player like Plax is arrested and his lawyer tells him to plead "not guilty", that is done because the player is ignorant of the law.

That's some pretty jacked up advice but it also shows exactly why players need to read these little league memos for themselves.

If Plax had read and understood New York City and New York state laws on gun ownership, he wouldn't have even had that gun with him.

The other side of the argument is that as a gun owner, it shows that Plax is not mature enough to own a weapon in the first place.

Far too many black athletes think that just having a gun means you're the coolest person on the block.

Gun ownership isn't some right but a privilege that requires a responsible individual.

When players start toting firearms to clubs, they are like everybody else out there who are bad gun owners.

Yes these players need to protect themselves but what they don't need to do is be involved in a gun play scenario in which they either shoot an innocent bystander or they become the victim.

No one is saying don't go out and party.

Just be aware of your surroundings and if you need protection, hire some off duty police officers because guess what, police officers ARE NEVER OFF DUTY.

That last bit of advice might just save you or family from grief and legal issues.

Illinois gub gives right wing talking heads more ammo against Prez-elect

By Gregory Moore

As if President-elect Barack Obama doesn't have enough problems in the world right now, right in his own back yard he now has the crisis of all political crisis coming down upon him.

Forget about Jeremiah Wright, Tony Rezko, Bill Ayers and Fr. Pfleger.

Those four men are neophytes when it comes to political scandals that could tarnish the first Black president of this country.

The heavyweight champion of political scandal has just been crowned and the winner is Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff.

If you don't know by now, Blagojevich was arrested Tuesday morning at his home by federal agents on conspiracy charges that include him trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama's now vacated U.S. Senate seat.

Of course news of this sort is bound to hit the airwaves and undoubtedly Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hanity and other right wing talking heads are already trying to find ways to link Obama to this scandal.

Don't be surprised that the words "Chicago politics", "insiders" and even the re-surfacing of Wright, Rezko, and Ayers as possible connects by these and other right wing demogauges. In the world of talk show, in order to keep a listenership someone has to become the hated foe and Obama is the man that everyone loves to hate right now from that side of the world.

It's a pity that instead of reporting on the story about Blagojevich, there are going to be news entities like Fox News, National Review and others who want to make this about Obama and where he is from politically.

Fair and balanced coverage?

Are you kidding me?

Not in this day and age.

Not with so many from the right wanting to show that Obama was the wrong pick for the most lucrative job in this country and possibly the world.

They aren't about taking a wait and see attitude; they are about having ammunition of fodder to constantly last from their microphonic cannons.

So while the right wing blowhards try to find ways of keeping their conspiracy about Obama going, this country is now thrown into a political nightmare of unparalleled proportions.

If you take the treasonous acts of Aaron Burr and couple them with all of the mess that has happened with Watergate and even the Iran-Contra fiasco, you will not come up with a big enough scandal than what is in front of us right now.

How serious is indictment that Blagojevich is being charged with?

How about the fact that it is one of the very reasons why the 17th amendment is a part of our Constitution right now. The amendment says in part, "The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures. When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of each State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct. This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution."

The amendment was written and ratified to curtail the corruption that was before this current form of selecting Senators. The amendment was written to stop the very actions that Blagojevich is being accused of and there hasn't been a case like his in probably a 100 years or so.

But his story isn't going to be told and nor will the historical significance of this crime even be seriously talked about by right wing conservatives.

Not this week and probably not ever.

Instead President-elect Obama is about to be thrown into this mess of political strife simply because he was a U.S. Senator who became the President of the United States and instead of these talk show hosts withholding judgment on our 44th President or any of his staff, under the bus they will all go.

That's a sad commentary on our talking media but it also shows just how bad this scandal could become.

With a scandal like this, right wing opponents aren't going to look for plausibility or deniability for President Obama; they are looking for blood and flesh.

Too bad because if there was ever a time for the collective sides of the media to come together and show the country that responsible journalism still exists even after election, this is it.

That's not going to happen.

Not with a juicy scandal like this so close to our new president and it involves his U.S. Senate vacancy.

We're more into Keisha Cole's drama than Burress' real life ramifications

By Gregory Moore

When I began doing research on my book project, I had a myriad of topics I could have chosen from.

I have floating around in my mind two fictional books about predominantly successful black characters and I have probably three or four ideas that are non-fiction in regards to Black athletes.

Out of all of those topics floating, the one that gravitated to me the most was the one I'm working on now, how Black athletes cannot handle success in today's society.

While the topic may not seem intriguing enough for the intellectually gifted, the fact that in our society there are more stories about black athletes getting in trouble than their Latin, Asian or Caucasian athletes should be troubling; at least it should be troubling in the Black community.

But it really isn't and that is probably why I'm writing the book.

Let's face the facts.

The Black society as we know it, thinks its pretty damn cool to be thugged out and it embraces everything that is the negative stereotype of thuggary as a positive message.

So when Plaxico Burress got arrested on gun charges, you didn't see anyone get upset from the Black community. Nobody took the issue up on CNN. DL and David Allen Grier can't find material funny enough for his show.

The point is that when it comes to this situation or situations like this, the Black community would rather find a reason NOT to say anything rather than tackle the issue head on and bring to to a national attention.

MORE OBSESSED WITH O.J. GOING TO JAIL AND KEISHA COLE'S CLAN

Burress' "non-coverage" by Black America shouldn't be shocking.

After all the only thing that has been abuzz lately is the fact that President-elect Barack Obama is weeks away from making history and everybody in the community is awaiting the "c-note with Barry's face on it".

We, as a people, are more interested in the fact that Oranthal James Simpson is going to jail for 15 years and that Keisha Cole's sister, Neffi, and her momma, are still ghetto as hell and never mind the fact that in a time like this, we should be finding ways to own businesses, start up media empires and become a backbone to the American economy on the production side and not the consumption side of the equation.

We are more in tune with why a guy like Burress got caught and fail to realize that he and so many others continually fall into the trap of the gangsta lifestyle and the complacency that it brings.

And do we get any of this when family members of these guys find out that the bread maker has screwed up potential gains?

Of course not.

The first thing that comes across is that, "the white man took my money away."

You know what's sad about that statement?

In a sense it is true but it is still a guy like Burress' fault that it happened.

UNDERSTANDING THE RAMIFICATIONS OF REALITY

De La Soul came out with a song called, "Reality used to be a friend of mine" and for years I used to hate that song.

But then I got its message.

Reality is only what you make it out to be.

Guys like Burress continually fail to realize where they are on the life chain of pro athletes who are successful and those who are just given an opportunity.

You want to know professional athletes who are successful?

Those are the guys who aren't getting themselves into trouble.

If you don't believe me, google a few guys and prove me wrong.

Just on the wide receiver end of things I'll give you a name; Terrell Owens.

As much as people want to say bad things about T.O., guess what? The guy has never been associated with any social shenanigance during his playing career.

I'll move away from football and go to basketball. Have you ever heard of King James getting caught up in the mess you read about when it comes to clubbing and what not?

Want another one? I'll give you three more names of prominent sports athletes. Tiger Woods. Ken Griffey, Jr., and Freddie Adu.

What's my point in mentioning these names? It's quite simple; you don't become successful by having your name plastered on page one of the New York Times because you were dumb enough to be out at a club with a handgun when you should have had your butt at home.

The ramifications of reality when you do stupid things is that the opportunity to make mega cash is taken away from you.

UNDERSTANDING THAT LOSING MONEY IS REAL THESE DAYS

I look at some of the shows that come on these days and shake my head.

For BET to put a show on about the drama that Cole and her family have on a daily basis draws down the chances of showing SUCCESSFUL family units in the real world.

The fake world that is portrayed on the network is the very reason why guys like Burress lose millions of dollars; that crap just ain't real folks.

A friend of mine told me something a few weeks ago when the stock market crashed and you know what, it rings true. My friend told me the following scenario that he has said about a year ago at a cocktail party he was attending.

"There will come a day when guys like LeBron James and Jay Z will lose a lot of money because they just don't know the rules of the game," my friend said.

"Think about it. These guys come into huge sums of money and they know nothing about investments and so their 'financial advisor' says put your money in Lehman Bros. or Merrill Lynch; two of the oldest stock institutions on the planet."

"These guys do that and when Sept. 15h hit, they went from $100 million on paper to $10 million or just pennies on the dollar."

"They trusted people who may have been looking out for their best interests but because they didn't give a crap about their own future, they got took."

That same principle could actually be used in the case of Burress and other athletes who think "packing" is rule in society and that rule is based on an attitude.

The NFL is pretty darn strict about how it expects its players to act both on and off the field.

Yes the league pretty much dictates what players can and cannot do but then again if you're getting paid a seven figure salary do you really give a darn?

In the business acumen you shouldn't because you are a contract employee and you are expected to conform to whatever is set before you.

The problem with guys like Burress and others is that they don't get that message. Sure the union is going to file a formal complaint but what the NFLPA really should be forcing is the fact that had Burress complied with what the Giants wanted and if he complied by "society's laws" in New York state, he may not be losing $27 million in future earnings.

That is where reality should be biting Burress in the arse.

The union should be pushing for Burress to find new employment with another team and basically tell him that he screwed this opportunity up with the Giants because the reality of the situation is that he did do just that.

That's strike two folks.

He screwed up a chance with the Pittsburgh Steelers and he's now screwed this one up with the New York Giants.

Tell me, how many more chances should he get for being an imbecile?

The bottom line to all of this is that if Black society was serious about how we want to be perceived, we would be pissed off that Burress has become the latest black athlete to squander a chance at building wealth and we would be having some serious discussions about how athletes and entertainers are not our best role models for the rest of th world to see.

Instead we brush off a guy like Burress and we chuckle it up over what Neffi and her momma are raving about this week.

We have younger generations enjoying the clown show and then we wonder how come we can't find better jobs.

Gee maybe we need to step into reality and realize that fantasy is just that; make believe.

Because losing $27 million future earnings for being stupid is real life and not some fake reality show on B.E.T.