Sidelined by an injury a month
earlier and nearing the end of his impressive first-round contract
from 1997, a frantic Carruth was reportedly becoming increasingly concerned
with the potential of financially supporting another child, with which Adams
was almost seven months pregnant. The mother of his first son, a child he never
saw, was drawing $5,500 each month from his NFL earnings via a positive
paternity suit.
After a short time spent on
the run from police, Carruth was arrested and stood trial in 2000. Judge
Charles Lamm presided over the case in which 7 men and 5 women found the
ex-NFLer guilty. Carruth was charged with conspiracy to murder and attempted murder, among
other charges, with a prison sentence no shorter than 18 years and 11 months.
Atypical of professional football
players who have previously been mentioned in this series, Carruth was said to
have “thrived” during his time at the University of Colorado. He was active as
a young professional athlete, volunteering and becoming involved with youth
organizations. Selected no. 27 overall by general manager Bill Polian, the
young draftee gave little indication of potential legal issues.
“We had no inkling there was anything like
this in his future. We did pretty extensive research on him. It was pretty
shocking,” said Polian. Carruth is said to have refrained from attending
parties, smoking, or drinking while in college. He kept to himself within the
Panthers’ locker room.
Cherica Adams died a month after
she was shot due to complications. Today, Rae Carruth sits in the
medium-security institution located in Lillington, N.C. His son, Chancellor, is
now a teenager and living with the effects of cerebral palsy, caused by a
deprivation of oxygen resulting from one of the gunshots.
Gruesome may paint the picture,
but tragic sums up the story.
As a general manage, if a guy avoids parties, smoking and drinking while in college, there may be a reason 'why' he avoided these activities and discovering that 'why' should be a priority. For example, they obviously cause him to act out of character. College does present a great deal of freedom compared to the high school setting, but the transition from college to the real world offers an additional level of freedom of choice. I'm not blaming Carruth's absurd behavioral choices completely on Bill Polian, but this blog adds to yet another poor decision made my an NFL player; excuses me, not player, PROFESSIONAL. The bottom line is that if these professional are going to continue to make irresponsible decisions more strict disciplinary actions must be implemented. If they plan on playing like professional then they need to start acting like professional!
ReplyDeleteAgain, this is another act of professionals making irresponsible decisions. It blows my mind how general managers know this about certain players, but still take a gamble on them because of the talents they possess. If Carruth was not allowed to attend parties and be around drinking, I think that is a red flag right from the start. I believe we will continue to see this pattern in many athletes for years to come until some organization steps up and disciplines them. Yes, there are a lot of great players out there, but to what point does someone draw the line and make these players start acting like adults.
ReplyDelete