Words by Diane Tutell
A LayupDrill.com Exclusive
With recent incidents involving Plaxico Burress, Richard Collier, Javon Walker and the death of Sean Taylor, protection has been in the mind of many professional athletes these days. Which begs the question, should NBA players start carrying concealed weapons when out on the town? Thereʼs been many debates about this issue of player safety and how far should players go to protect themselves. I asked some of my friends
and here are their responses:
No, athletes should not carry guns…what they should do is learn how to put together an entourage that knows how to watch their back though! They should have mandatory entourage schools to teach them certain skills…skills like security, PR, driving a limo, weeding out hoochies, chicken heads and skanks, plus tax accounting.
- P.C in Washington, DC
I think athletes should carry guns because Iʼm sure its always somebody who will be angry they beat their team or try to rob them because of their flamboyant lifestyle they have.
– D.A in Los Angeles, CA
No, they should not carry guns. If they feel they need to pack a pistol at a particular place/event, then perhaps they should refrain from going to said place/event. But if they simply must attend, most of them are wealthy enough to hire security.
- H.R in Toledo, OH
No, they should not carry guns. First, they need to start conducting themselves like grown men instead of college freshmen still trying to hang out at the ghetto clubs. Second, it they feel the need to carry guns everywhere they go then the seriously need to reevaluate their lifestyle and friends. Third, the need to start spending time with their families and 50-11 children they have spread out all over the country. There should be a ZERO tolerance on guns for all professional sports.
- T.B in Montgomery, AL
I understand these players are easy targets. Heck they are taller than the average American so they are easy to point out in public. I donʼt think that when they are on the road or at home they should stay indoors and play solitaire all night. They are young, rich men who should go out and have some fun. One should use common sense when going out to the clubs. Wearing $150,000 worth of jewelry to the club is a big no no.
Being a show off *cough cough Pacman Jones* and throwing money in the air in a crowded club is down right idiotic. It kind of boils down to how a player carry themselves. Not saying all players who act like a knucklehead deserves whatʼs coming to him because of their actions. Some of these players must realize that not everyone is happy about their success. And some donʼt take too kindly about an athlete rubbing
their success in their faces. There are “haters” everywhere they go.
Some covet what theyʼve accomplished or salty about a career that went nowhere for one reason or another. Also, they attract lots of women. Thereʼs always that competitive factor in the club-who can get the most numbers or take home the hottest chick in the club at the end of the night. Add drugs and alcohol to the mix and you have a recipe for some type of confrontation started by the slightest infraction. So how do a player protect themselves? Taking a gun to the club? We see how well that worked for Plaxico
Burress. How he got in the club with a gun is puzzling to me. Did security give him a pass because of who he was? Thatʼs a problem right there. Too many athletes are used to getting a “pass” because of who they are and feel that normal rules donʼt apply to them. The other option is get a security guard who is licensed to carry a gun. Not sure how much security goes for these days but I am sure they are cheaper than the fines
and fees imposed by the league and court system. Itʼs time for players to reevaluate who they hang with, who they interact with and where they go from now to make sure they are safe and have fun at the same time.
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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Get an bodyguard! That is why they are around.
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