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men are the ones we can tell our kids about when we're talking about the positives of the sports game. The smart parents won't make these young guys role models because no one knows what the future holds for any of us - but having no insight in the future should not mean that we have no hope for the future. At the Los Angeles Coliseum Saturday, standing underneath sun and clouds, I got a whole bunch of hope. Hope that a group of talented young men will do their part not to add more chinks in the fragile entity known as the black athlete. The National Football League Players Association teamed up with Reebok to host the NFL Players Rookie Premiere this past weekend, and young men from a wide array of universities and cities they called home were assembled to take photographs of many sorts at the home of USC football. There was Tatum Bell, who wanted to get the open running back
spot vacated by Clinton Portis in Denver. He asked for #7, not
knowing what kind of flak that would cause, and he said John Elway
told him that if he ran for 1,500 yards and 20 touchdowns, then
he could wear #7. He knew that was in jest, but he also knew that
his situation of getting some serious playing time in Keary Colbert was once again walking on the field he just won a national championship playing on throughout the season. He was proud to be making his first true professional appearance on the grounds he called home for a stellar collegiate career. He was humbled by the opportunity to be playing professional football, and like most of the young men there Saturday, he just felt blessed to get the chance. As humble as Colbert and others were, DeAngelo Hall and Kellen Winslow were not. Hall is a rookie cornerback for the Atlanta Falcons, who will be wearing #21. He danced to every song by himself in the middle of the field, and expressed a prime time enthusiasm and excitement that another Falcon who wore #21 did several years ago. Winslow, a 180-degree turn from his Hall of Fame father, Kellen,
Sr., with his tattoos and language that contained mostly slang,
flexed his muscles every chance he got, showed a slight contempt
for some of those who interviewed him (we were both 'Canes, so
I got over), and hung out with, technically, nobody. But his swagger
showed that he was ready to take this Beauty came in the guise of Cincinnati Bengals running back Chris
Perry, whose mother, Irene, was in the house along with him. Perry
said that his mother was his confidant and was the only one he
could really trust because "she'd always been there."
She walked around the field and tried to get everyone to sign
these glossy photos her son received from the league. The Big Ben Troupe, new tight end for the Tennessee Titans was smiling mightily, Michael Clayton talked with me as we laughed heartily, and was on his back a few times after some things made him laugh. Larry Fitzgerald spent time talking to kids, and playing catch with some of the volunteers at the event. St. Louis Rams running back Stephen Jackson was re-introduced to relatives who knew him as a baby, but he couldn't return the sentiment of recollection towards. Then there was Devard Darling. His story is the one that brings the most compassion. Darling and his twin brother, Devaughn came to the United States when they were both 12 years old, and their love for the game helped them to get scholarships to Florida State University. Devaughn died during workouts in the 2001 season, which left Devard all alone - but not without a little drama of his own. Devard was diagnosed with sickle cell trait, and fell so ill that FSU would not grant him a waiver of any sort to play when he became fully recovered, so he went across country to Washington State and with the 82nd pick in the NFL Draft of this past spring, he was a new member of the Baltimore Ravens. Soft spoken, and almost giving out the feel of an outsider, Darling is determined more than any other player on the field to make it. His brother depends on it, he says, and he's come too far in a short amount of time to fall short of success. Hope is Devard Darling, and all of the new crew entering the NFL game this fall. I didn't see any bad guys on the Coliseum field on Saturday. I saw hope. cubefour sports  WANT TO REACH THIS WRITER Copyright 2006 by BlackAthlete.net, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
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