Pro Athletes Affected By Recent Violence

Charles Grant strutted down the red carpet Friday night on his way to a party thrown by New Orleans Saints teammate Reggie Bush and perennial NBA All-Star Shaquille O’Neal.

Two weeks ago, the Saints defensive end was stabbed in the neck outside a Georgia night club while trying to enjoy a night out in his hometown.

Grant, by published accounts, was an innocent bystander attacked on the fringe. The fracas resulted in the death of a pregnant woman in her mid-20s, another person at the wrong place at the wrong time.

“You know, with this here, when you’re an African-American and you’re in certain situations, certain people really envy you and your status and them not being able to overcome what I could overcome,” Grant told The Times-Picayune on Friday night. “They look with jealousy. They’ll do anything to bring you down.”

Grant’s teammates heard about the potential tragedy through different channels. Running back Pierre Thomas was in an airport when he heard the news. Marques Colston’s brother phoned him when the news crawled across the NFL Network’s telecast leading up to Super Bowl XLII.

It brought back the sinking feelings of when former Washington safety Sean Taylor and Denver cornerback Darrent Williams both were slain within the last 16 months.

Others, like Houston cornerback Dunta Robinson and NBA veteran Antoine Walker, were robbed in their own homes at gunpoint.

Grant was one of the lucky ones. The wound turned out to be not as serious considering he was stabbed in the neck. NHL player Richard Zednik nearly bled out and died on the ice earlier this week following an accidental cut to his neck.

“I’ve got a lot of great angels to look over me and my inner circle,” Grant said.

These alarming, yet more frequent acts of violence against professional athletes have forced Thomas to map out any and every social outing.

“You have to expect crazy things and unfortunately incidents like these,” Thomas said. “I just open my ears and listen to those who know better than me. I take my time and I plan out everything that I’m going to do.

“You never know what can happen. You always have to have your guard up. You’ve just got to be safe. You have to surround yourself with good people.”

Colston has become more recognizable with his increased success on the field and his commercial appearances off it. The quiet, humble wide receiver is the type of person to engage a friendly gesture to all comers.

And still Colston heeds his surroundings. The cautionary tales have forced him to.

“It’s something that us guys in the limelight we’ve always got to be conscious of it and just try to keep ourselves out of suspect situations,” Colston said.

You can’t blame them.

- Larry Holder, Sun Herald