Below is the beginning of an article (and the link) about a 25 year old athlete caught in a tangled web of women and children:
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After fathering seven children by six women in five states, you'd think Antonio Cromartie would have trouble finding a new partner.
The New York Jets not only have a crush on Cromartie, they'll pay to help his bygones be bygones. You don't have to be Dr. Laura to shriek the obvious question:
What are you thinking?"
We're working with Antonio to give him the best chance to be successful," Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum said.
What they're doing is having unprotected football sex. Unable to sign Tiger Woods, the Jets traded a third-round pick to San Diego for Cromartie. They not only got a cornerback, they got all the baggage that comes with being one tryst short of an Octo-dad.
That includes paternity-payment bills so large that Cromartie needed a $500,000 advance. All those mothers apparently couldn't wait until his first paycheck in September to buy baby formula.
That gets to the real worry for Jets fans. If a guy is that irresponsible with his flesh-and-blood, what's he going to be like with you?
Sure, general managers regularly invite players into their locker rooms whom they wouldn't let within 100 yards of their daughters. But no team has consummated the kind of relationship New York has with Cromartie.
He couldn't take care of his families on $1.7 million a year. What makes anyone think he's suddenly going to grow up?"
I made some wrong decisions in my first two years [in the league]," Cromartie said, "and I have to take on that responsibility.
"In other words, he's a changed man. Where have a billion women heard that before?
(http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2010/03/09/jets-just-enabling-cromarties-behavior/?sms_ss=email)
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There's no need to delve into the mind of this troubled young man as the aforementioned behavior speaks for itself and is disturbing on many levels. One thing is certain - he needs help. In addition, The New York Jets have shown their true colors in that - a) Winning is priority number one and b) Character is second or lower. Would you trust a guy like him to be a critical part of your organization?
And let's not forget the message this story sends to our youth, especially those in sports who look up to their heroes on the the football field.
When I talk to or counsel youth, I always make a point to talk about Responsibility and Irresponsibility. I emphasize that one bad choice can send a life into an abyss of unimaginable proportions just as a good choice can make one's journey fly in that rarefied air above the clouds.
The dialogue never strays far from the article I wrote in 2008 called "Mistakes - Responsible or Irresponsible". Below is a portion of the article followed by the link:
A Responsible mistake = One has thought through the consequences of an action beforehand; knows the worst possible outcome and is willing to live with the decision. One's life still can be damaged severely but at least there was serious thought and contemplation about the action. This kind of mistake can always be respected.
An Irresponsible mistake = An action where one just "throws caution to the wind" and gets moved by the emotion of the situation without any regard to the consequences. Acting without thought. People do get lucky and survive this mistake but invariably lives get damaged when irresponsibility rears its ugly head.
(http://gswede-sunday.blogspot.com/2008/09/mistakes-responsible-or-irresponsible.html)
To live a well-rounded, exciting and interesting life, one must take some risks and with that comes the growing pains of unwise choices in a variety of life areas including but not limited to relationships, money, jobs, children, health, friends and marriage.
In my opinion, the key to success is keeping the irresponsible choices few and far between along with having them near the low end of irresponsibility and not in the vicinity of the high end above.
The impact of our actions reverberate in more ways than we realize especially the actions of athletes being that their platform for influence is so wide. Let's hope that in another five years, we won't be reading about an athlete or anyone else displaying this kind of reckless and sad behavior.
Happy Gswede Sunday!
Winter 2007 in Stockolm, Sweden - Not as much snow as this winter although this day was magnificent!
2 comments:
This is sad and the Travis Henry story (former Denver Broncos RB) is even worse. However, at the same time they're A LOT of gold diggin women out there with their own agenda and some of them should be held accountable too - as the story goes... "it takes two tango"..
I appreciate the value behind writing such an opinion but I beg to differ about why the Jets would sign such a player. If the Bulls were afraid of Rodman's off the court antics, MJ may not have won his 6 rings (Maybe 4 but not 6). Rodman was all business on the court and whatever he does off the court is, quite frankly, none of our business. We pay to see a player play his game at his best. We don't pay to see him exhibit any of the qualities we bestow upon our youth. If you want a good orle model for your kids to follow, brag about their teacher, doctor, police officer, or Fireman. An athlete is paid big bucks to perform at a level most of us could never achieve no matter how hard we try. And many come from poor upbringings in the hope for a better life. They do need couseling before they get paid that whopping check but they don't owe the public one inch of any kind of moral fiber. If you don't like his lifestyle, then don't buy the ticket or switch the channel to figure skating. :-)
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