This is by no means a comprehensive list of every awful thing a college or professional football player has done recently or ever. I also realize this entry can seem didactic, presenting a challenge without presenting a solution to it. I don’t know what solution may be necessary to fix human inhumanity. I love football and find myself fascinated by the athletic feats and tactical genius required to succeed in the sport at every level. I am also a human being who is troubled to think that my favorite players may commit wretched atrocities and get away with doing so because law enforcement, coaching staff and other community members overlook the violence, rape, and murder that players are occasionally willing to engage in.
Jameis Winston – Jan 26th, 2016 Florida State University settled with former student Erica Kinsman for $950,000 on a rape accusation involving the school’s former Heisman trophy winning Quarterback Jameis Winston. That’s an awful lot of money for a rape that “didn’t” happen. When Kinsman initially went to file charges against Winston, the officer involved reportedly told her: “This is a huge football town. You really should think long and hard if you want to press charges.” (Washington Post, article by Marissa Payne.) You can find a documentary on netflix titled: “Hunting Ground” that discusses Kinsman’s fight for justice, and the trial many other rape survivors deal with on college campuses. Kinsman didn’t wait 6 months to file charges. She literally spoke to police less than 24 hours after the incident took place. Winston’s DNA is sitting in a rape kit filed by Kinsman. Winston was never convicted or arrested for his actions. He is now the starting quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after being the first overall selection in the NFL draft in 2015.
Shawn Oakman – April 3rd, 2016 Former Baylor defensive end Shawn Oakman was charged with sexual assault and arrested. Oakman admitted to sexual intercourse but claims it was consensual. His trial is still in process. Oakman was a defensive end for Baylor university who was expected to be drafted in the 2016 NFL draft prior to his arrest.
Tyreek Hill – December 11th, 2014, Tyreek Hill “was booked on probable cause for domestic abuse by strangulation, a felony, for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend.” Hill proceeded to plead guilty in court the following August, approximately 9 months later, to “punching and choking his pregnant girlfriend and received three years of probation.”
Tyreek Hill was drafted in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. Hill is currently serving three years probation and at the time of the arraignment was tasked with completing a “52-week batterer intervention course.”
Greg Hardy – May 13, 2014 Nicole Holder was assaulted by NFL defensive lineman Greg Hardy. Deadspin released photos of Greg Hardy’s girlfriend after Hardy assaulted her. Photos can be found at nydailynews.com here. The original article on Deadspin is linked here. This is a conversation (via Deadspin) between Detective Faye Strother and Nicole Holder, Hardy’s girlfriend, after the assault took place.
Hardy signed with the Dallas Cowboys for the 2015 season. He is currently a free agent. Hardy was never charged formally, deadspin reports he and Nicole Holder settled out of court.
Dorial Green-Beckham – In 2014, April 6th, 2:36 am, a Sunday morning, a 6 foot 6 inch Dorial Green-Beckham forced his way into his girlfriend’s apartment and pushed “another female resident who was on the stairs ‘with two hands making her fall down at least 4 stairs.'” After which Green-Beckham’s girlfriend said (in a text message to the woman pushed down the stairs) he “drug me out by my neck and hurt me too.” Green-Beckham’s girlfriend stated she been talked to by the coaching staff at Missouri who urged her not to press charges as doing so would hurt Green-Beckham’s chances at being drafted.
Green-Beckham become a second round pick for the Tennessee Titans in the May 2015 draft. No charges were ever brought against him.
Ray Rice – February 15th, 2014 Ray Rice and now wife Janay Palmer were arrested on ‘simple assault charges.‘ Video footage was released of Ray Rice knocking his then-fiancee Janay Palmer out cold in an elevator. You can youtube ‘ray rice violence’ if you want to see the video. It is the first to show up. Rice was released by the Ravens since the video was released, months after the incident took place. Rice has not been on an NFL roster since.
Rice had been known, in part, for his charitable events working with local youth, prior to the incident.
Richie Incognito – Feb 15, 2014 Ted Wells released a report stating that Incognito, along with teammates John Jerry and Mike Pouncey, subjected teammate Jonathan Martin to “a pattern of harassment.” Incognito spent a year out of football and is currently a starter for the Buffalo Bills. Jonathan Martin played another season for the San Francisco 49ers and then retired from football.
Aaron Hernandez – June of 2013 Former Patriots Tight End Aaron Hernandez shot and killed Odin Lloyd. Lloyd purportedly had knowledge of two other murders in which Hernandez had been a suspect. The former patriots tight end is now serving a life sentence without parole at Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center according to his Wikipedia page.
Ray Lewis – January 31st, 2000 Ray Lewis, Reginald Oakley, and Joseph Sweeting were ” indicted on murder and aggravated-assault charges“ after Richard Loller and Jacinth Baker had been stabbed to death. The fight took place a few miles away from the nightclub Lewis and his friends had been partying at that night. The white suit Lewis had worn that night has “never been found.” The prosecuting D.A. claimed that Lewis threw his suit away in a nearby dumpster. A knife found at the murder scene had no fingerprints. Lewis later admitted his two friends (Oaklay and Sweeting) had purchased knives the week before the SuperBowl. The blood of Jacinth Baker was found in Ray Lewis’s limousine.
Lewis ended up bargaining for a deal where he received 12 months’ probation for obstruction of justice in exchange for a testimony against Oakley and Sweeting. Oakley and Sweeting were acquitted in June of that year for the crime. “No other suspects have ever been arrested for the incident.”
All information, data, quotes, etc are from wikipedia.com unless otherwise specified. Nothing is my original content or information.
Gridiron Seasonal 