Matt Jones

In discussing comparisons of how the media handled broadcasting of the alleged crimes of Michael Vick & Matt Jones, Mr. Batchelor received a response to his contention that if Jones had been Black, he would’ve been treated differently.

Two of our listeners -- Justin & Luther -- had taken time to add their voice to the discourse:

For accuracy purposes, we have printed Justin’s response:

On Sep 9, 2009 at 7:16 PM, Justin Scott Allen (justin0352@live.com ) wrote:

I just read your article that mentions that white athletes get away with things black athletes do not. Are you crazy? Try getting things straight before writing it. Matt Jones never pleaded guilty and he didn’t go to rehab either. You really should do some research.

I love watching Michael Vick play football and am a big supporter but you have to be crazy to believe what Jones did is worse than what Vick did. I am not racist at all but even I know that if every person who used any kind of drug was in prison there wouldn’t be any black superstars! The word nigger (which I hate) means ignorant. I think you fit that word pretty good.

Here is BASN’s response:

Justin, you ignorant slut!

According to news accounts, the Washington County Sheriff's Office in Fayetteville, Arkansas says officers arrested Jones and two other men as they sat in a Toyota 4Runner in an unlit parking lot in a known drug area.

The preliminary arrest report shows an officer saw Jones sitting in the back seat of the car with a white card with a white powdery substance on it, and a credit card in his other hand.

The officer said he opened the door and asked Jones to "put his hands where he could see them."

Authorities say Jones didn't comply right away and hid his left hand. The officer drew his gun and ordered Jones out of the vehicle. Jones got out and the officer put him in handcuffs.

Police reports indicated Jones was found with 6 grams of coke.

Jones was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance, and was later suspended three games by the NFL.

His suspension came a week after Jones was accepted into a drug treatment program that could erase the felony cocaine charge against him.

Jones had to participate in NFL-sponsored substance abuse counseling and random drug testing through the end of the 2008 football season before returning to Fayetteville, Ark., to complete the intervention program.

Jones was arrested and charged with one count of cocaine possession on July 10, when a Fayetteville police officer saw him inside a parked car allegedly cutting up cocaine with a Foot Locker credit card. The charge, if successfully adjudicated, carried a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Jones pleaded not guilty to the charge and had been scheduled to face trial, but prosecutor John Threet's office reached an agreement with Jones' attorney to send the case to drug court.

Jones was later reinstated and his fine money returned to him; he is now free to deal with any team that wants him, and recently was turned down by the Tennessee Titans.

Because of NFL rules, Jones couldn’t get reinstated unless he passed a league-endorsed drug rehab program.

We decided to put this information out because assholes like Justin shouldn’t make stupid statements like he posted without doing the same research he accused Mr. Batchelor of not doing.

So, to close, Justin - the only accurate thing you said in your response (the word nigger – which I hate – means ignorant.)

To quote your own words Justin - I think that word “fits YOU pretty good.” 

With the ‘tragedy’ out the way, on to the (Black) Comedy:

Now that Vick has been hired by the Eagles, we present the

"Top 10 things Michael Vick Learned in the Federal Pen."

10. Most defensive coordinators and other strategists will probably have to endure sleepless nights again, trying to figure out how to defend against his passing and his running – once freed from the Wildcat Plantation for Black quarterbacks.

9. When the Philadelphia Eagles hired him, they did so because they could get him cheaply, and also keep him from playing for another team that could eventually beat them because of his tremendous talent at the QB position (Jeffrey Lurie’s desire for Vick’s “self-hate” notwithstanding)

8. No NFL team would hire him if he wasn't still among the best QBs, even though he hasn't played in nearly 3 years.

7. No NFL team would hire him to be the back-up for a white QB, because he's better than most of them and it would cause too much anxiety and insecurity among them.

(Can we say, oh – St. Louis, Kansas City, Buffalo, Carolina, San Francisco…)

6. America continued its grand tradition of thievery - first by stealing the land from the Native Americans, then by stealing the labor from the African slaves, then by stealing the $130 million he just received for being one of the best QBs in the league.

5. America also has no problem with hunters like ex-governor Sarah Palin, shooting wolves and bears for sport from an airplane; or others who bust caps in Bullwinkle and Bambi…

4. America (or the NFL for that matter) has no problem with the dog racing industry brutalizing and eventually killing dogs, because that makes money for them.

3. America loves its dogs more than it loves its humans, particularly if they are Black humans.

2. America continues their 'shock and awe' of the Iraqi people, resulting in the slaughter of over 1 million humans on a damn lie; with no one from PETA, ASPCA, etc. uttering a single word of protest at the human slaughter…

And this, the Number One reason Michael Vick learned from his stay in prison:

Vick found out Matt Jones was caught with 6 grams of cocaine and never did any real time in jail. Were Jones the same color as Vick, it would be felony possession – and see you in 5-10 years.  

Now we could have said as the No. 1 Answer, “No white quarterback would have received federal prison time (and probably no time at all) for a similar 'crime'” – but Vick already knew that.

What he didn’t know was that the League would make $$$ off of No. 7 Vick – dog jerseys…

If he learned just half of these, he should be able to move forward to earn a living and feed his family, never doubting that he was victimized by a racist double standard in his punishment.

He now knows that as long as he is Black in America, he will be subject to this double standard, and must take care to avoid being ensnared by it again - this is something we have all had to learn.

(With special thanks to Luther!)