Giant NFL players admitting they feel threatened by crime? This hardly fits
their tough, macho image. Our concern is supposed to be for women walking alone
at night.
But while the massive size and strength of NFL players might seem to make
them unlikely victims, their wealth and high profiles nonetheless make them targets
for violent criminals. Yet, crimes against professional athletes don’t engender
much sympathy or news coverage.
So, what do many NFL players do when they realize that their physical
strength does not give them enough protection from violent crime? The same as
many other would-be victims -- they get guns. Well over 50 percent of NFL
players are estimated to own guns. By contrast, about 45 percent of American
adults generally own guns. Shortly before New Year’s, the concern that a
majority of NFL players actually own guns rated a news story in the politically
correct New York Times.
Early in the morning on Jan. 21, Corey Fuller, the 5-foot, 10-inch,
210-pound defensive back for the Baltimore Ravens, was confronted by two armed
robbers outside his
In late October, T.J. Slaughter, a 6-foot, 233-pound linebacker, was
arrested for allegedly pointing a gun at motorists who pulled up next to him on
the highway. Slaughter denied that he had pointed the gun at the motorists and
claimed that they had threatened him. According to Slaughter, he told the men
to move away from his car. No charges were filed, but the Jacksonville Jaguars
still cut Slaughter the next day.
Greg Anthony, a 6-foot, 176-pound guard for 12 years in the NBA, carried a registered
gun during part of his career. He said, “More and more people approach you, and
you just never know what somebody is capable of doing ... [Players] see
carrying as a deterrent.”
Well-known coaches, such as Barry Switzer and Bobby Knight, have also
carried guns.
Recent media stories -- from the New York Times to the Chicago Tribune --
have run extremely negative stories on professional players owning guns. The
Tribune described players owning guns as a “problem [that] persists.”
Ironically, within days of the December New York Times piece, it was revealed
that the New York Times lets its reporters carry guns in
With high profile basketball players including Allen Iverson, Charles
Barkley and Scottie Pippen having been arrested for
illegal gun possession -- as well as football players such as Alonzo Spellman
and Damien Robinson -- the issue of professional athletes and guns is often in
the news, and this coverage helps form people’s opinions. (Though, in all these
cases, charges were eventually dropped.)
There are no systematic numbers on the crimes committed against professional
athletes, but anecdotal stories abound, proving that professional athletes’
physical strength hardly makes them immune to crime. Take a couple additional
examples.
-- Yancy Thigpen of the Tennessee Titans (height:
6-1, weight: 203 lbs.) has faced three armed robberies since joining the NFL
eight years ago. The last one left him and his fiancée tied up inside his house
with their 2-month old daughter locked in a closet. An earlier robbery involved
a carjacking.
-- Will Allen of the New York Giants (height: 5-10, weight: 195 lbs.) was
assaulted, doused with gasoline and robbed by an assailant when he returned to
his house one evening in 2001.
Unfortunately all of the nation's four leading pro sports leagues -- the
National Football League, the National Basketball Association, the National
Hockey League and Major League Baseball -- trivialize the athletes’ concerns
over safety. The NFL’s official advice: “In some circumstances, such as for
sport or protection, you may legally possess a firearm or other weapon.
However, we strongly recommend that you not do so.” The league advocates
passive behavior when confronted by a criminal.
Such misguided advice simply makes players and their families more
vulnerable and does not square with the U.S. Department of Justice's findings.
Take robbery or assault. The Justice Department’s National Crime Victimization
Survey has shown for decades that providing no self-protection is by far the
most likely to result in injury. Even actions other than carrying a weapon,
such as screaming or trying to attract attention, are safer than passive
behavior.
The NFL has gone so far as to conduct annual seminars for their athletes on
firearms, stressing the risks to children of guns and the risks of having a gun
in a car. The teams have forbidden players from having guns with them at
stadiums or while traveling on League-related business, but this leaves players
who obey the rules as sitting ducks before or after games.
Indeed, the players who violate the rules are probably doing their teammates
a favor because they at least create some uncertainty in criminals’ minds about
whether a player can protect himself. Yet, the league’s sanctions make players
reticent to talk about defensive gun uses.
Even professional athletes are not supermen. T.J. Slaughter expresses no
regrets for having a gun despite running afoul of political correctness and
being cut by the Jaguars. He said. “I believe legally owning a gun is the right
thing to do. It offers me protection. I think one day it could save my life.”
It seems a lesson that many who are not quite as strong can learn from.
John Lott, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, is the
author of The
Bias Against Guns (Regnery, 2003). His web site
is www.johnrlott.com