One more....
Rick Reilly is really getting used to being ESPN's feature guy.
Here is a series of articles about how NFL players are still living in fear after the string of athlete attacks last year.
Some highlights:
Redskins RB Clinton Portis (friend of murdered player Sean Taylor): Right now, who is better to target than an athlete? Bankers are losing jobs. Real estate gurus are losing jobs. Wall Street is losing jobs. Lots of people getting humble, but an athlete's money is constant.
I know a lot of players who think, Oh, man they ain't gonna get me. I watch where I'm going. No one's sneaking up on me. I say to them, Anybody can be touched. If somebody wants to get to you, there ain't no limits. Sean was home with his family, and they got to him.
But even with what happened, I can't walk around in fear. Out of fear your reaction is going to be totally different. If I don't know you and you walk up on me too fast, do I shoot first and ask questions later? Because I'm living in fear? You could be running to tell me my car lights are on. It's tricky, though. When you put on that uniform, you have to be fearless-and it's hard to turn off. A banker in Sean's position would've probably just called the police that night. But as an athlete, Sean's reaction was embedded in him."
Titans center, Kevin Mawae: "If I had to guess about our locker room, I'd say it's fifty-fifty when it comes to gun ownership. I don't own a handgun. I have a hunting rifle. My job is to protect my family. If someone comes into my house? Game's on. Outside of the home, it's guys who aren't humble enough to back down who find trouble. I know of a player who was carjacked. Now, the egotistical player might want to fight. But he did the smart thing and said, "Hey, take it." That's hard for an NFL player to do, because your psyche isn't built that way. But do you want to keep your manhood or keep your life?"
Steelers QB: Ben Rothlisberger: "I don't want to relive all the details, but this guy brandished a weapon in my face. I kept my cool and talked my way out of it. People showed up and helped get rid of the guy. That's when I decided to have someone with me all the time.
Early on, my teammates were like, "Who does that rookie think he is?" Now guys are like, "Man, that was one of the smartest things you've ever done." And some of those same guys have actually gotten security people themselves. Having a bodyguard doesn't make you weak. I'm sure 99% of the guys in the NFL could take care of themselves in a fight. The issue is protecting yourself and what you have: your name, health, money. You're trying to save your life."
Texans CB Dunta Robinson: "I never owned a gun, never thought I needed a gun-until I was robbed at gunpoint in my own home. It was a Saturday. I'm watching college football on my couch. I look up, and guys are barging into my house, pushing guns in my face. Laid down, duct-taped, arms and legs bound behind me on my living room floor, with my kids pushed into a closet.
Scariest moment of my life.
You hear lots of stories about guys getting robbed, and you say, Man, what were they doing, how did they get into that situation? Flashy guys. Rude guys. Guys who act like they're better than everybody. I don't roll like that, and it still happened to me. I'm young. I have money. I have what they want. I definitely felt targeted, just like everyone in my position is a target.
The hardest part was that it involved my family. My son was 2, my daughter 4 or 5 months. I wanted to run, then I wanted to fight. But you can't react like Scarface in the movies, go nuts and still get out of the situation alive-this is real life. As tough as I think I am, I had to give it up, get down on the floor and do everything they asked. You can defend yourself by fighting or by thinking. I chose thinking.
What let me know I wasn't going to die was they kept calling me by my first name. I saw them looking at my face, then back to the football pictures on the wall, then one of the guys was like, "You're a good player, so I'm not going to kill you."
That, my friends, football player or no football player, is terrifying. Dunta Robinson is younger than me.
Here is a series of articles about how NFL players are still living in fear after the string of athlete attacks last year.
Some highlights:
Redskins RB Clinton Portis (friend of murdered player Sean Taylor): Right now, who is better to target than an athlete? Bankers are losing jobs. Real estate gurus are losing jobs. Wall Street is losing jobs. Lots of people getting humble, but an athlete's money is constant.
I know a lot of players who think, Oh, man they ain't gonna get me. I watch where I'm going. No one's sneaking up on me. I say to them, Anybody can be touched. If somebody wants to get to you, there ain't no limits. Sean was home with his family, and they got to him.
But even with what happened, I can't walk around in fear. Out of fear your reaction is going to be totally different. If I don't know you and you walk up on me too fast, do I shoot first and ask questions later? Because I'm living in fear? You could be running to tell me my car lights are on. It's tricky, though. When you put on that uniform, you have to be fearless-and it's hard to turn off. A banker in Sean's position would've probably just called the police that night. But as an athlete, Sean's reaction was embedded in him."
Titans center, Kevin Mawae: "If I had to guess about our locker room, I'd say it's fifty-fifty when it comes to gun ownership. I don't own a handgun. I have a hunting rifle. My job is to protect my family. If someone comes into my house? Game's on. Outside of the home, it's guys who aren't humble enough to back down who find trouble. I know of a player who was carjacked. Now, the egotistical player might want to fight. But he did the smart thing and said, "Hey, take it." That's hard for an NFL player to do, because your psyche isn't built that way. But do you want to keep your manhood or keep your life?"
Steelers QB: Ben Rothlisberger: "I don't want to relive all the details, but this guy brandished a weapon in my face. I kept my cool and talked my way out of it. People showed up and helped get rid of the guy. That's when I decided to have someone with me all the time.
Early on, my teammates were like, "Who does that rookie think he is?" Now guys are like, "Man, that was one of the smartest things you've ever done." And some of those same guys have actually gotten security people themselves. Having a bodyguard doesn't make you weak. I'm sure 99% of the guys in the NFL could take care of themselves in a fight. The issue is protecting yourself and what you have: your name, health, money. You're trying to save your life."
Texans CB Dunta Robinson: "I never owned a gun, never thought I needed a gun-until I was robbed at gunpoint in my own home. It was a Saturday. I'm watching college football on my couch. I look up, and guys are barging into my house, pushing guns in my face. Laid down, duct-taped, arms and legs bound behind me on my living room floor, with my kids pushed into a closet.
Scariest moment of my life.
You hear lots of stories about guys getting robbed, and you say, Man, what were they doing, how did they get into that situation? Flashy guys. Rude guys. Guys who act like they're better than everybody. I don't roll like that, and it still happened to me. I'm young. I have money. I have what they want. I definitely felt targeted, just like everyone in my position is a target.
The hardest part was that it involved my family. My son was 2, my daughter 4 or 5 months. I wanted to run, then I wanted to fight. But you can't react like Scarface in the movies, go nuts and still get out of the situation alive-this is real life. As tough as I think I am, I had to give it up, get down on the floor and do everything they asked. You can defend yourself by fighting or by thinking. I chose thinking.
What let me know I wasn't going to die was they kept calling me by my first name. I saw them looking at my face, then back to the football pictures on the wall, then one of the guys was like, "You're a good player, so I'm not going to kill you."
That, my friends, football player or no football player, is terrifying. Dunta Robinson is younger than me.