Tony Washington

[Doc]

I can understand incest being a felony, but how can it be justified that a 16 year old who had consensual sex with his 15 year old sister be tried as an adult? Especially since there is a low recidivism rate. The act itself is shameful enough, but to label him a child molester for life, when he was a child himself, is just wrong.

 

But since he IS a registered sex offender, he'll never play in the NFL.

[JohnC]

I can understand incest being a felony, but how can it be justified that a 16 year old who had consensual sex with his 15 year old sister be tried as an adult? Especially since there is a low recidivism rate. The act itself is shameful enough, but to label him a child molester for life, when he was a child himself, is just wrong.

 

But since he IS a registered sex offender, he'll never play in the NFL.

 

He is not playing or even given an opportunity to play in the NFL not for legal reasons. The organizations are afraid of a PR backlash and don't want to risk it.

 

The shame of his situation is that if he would have had a competent attorney handle his case at the time he was called in by the authorities the situation, although very serious, would have been manageable.

 

This is a very sad case. I wish him well. The shame of it is that playing in Canada would have afforded him an excellent gateway into the NFL. Even that door is now closed.

[NoSaint]

Though he wasn't a 5th rounder, 3rd rounder Chris Henry got a litany of second chances. And yes, you brilliantly deduced that the interest on this board may be due to the lack of quality LT play we have on our team. Second chances aren't solely for 1st round draft picks who think they own the world and can get away with murder (well at least beating your girlfriend or killing a few dogs.) Second chances are actually for people who own up to the mistakes they made in their past and learn from said mistakes. How many more times will Big Ben have to forcibly impose himself on a woman before his second chances are up?

 

Chris Henry drafted in the third with his mistakes, probably would've gone a lot earlier. He also had game film that he could produce in the NFL for chance 3, 4, 23.... I'm not saying its fair, I'm saying thats how it works. It always has, it probably always will. If chris Henry without incident was a 5th rd prospect do you think he'd get the same chances? I agree that out of all these guys Tony deserves a chance more then a lot of them.

 

I can understand incest being a felony, but how can it be justified that a 16 year old who had consensual sex with his 15 year old sister be tried as an adult? Especially since there is a low recidivism rate. The act itself is shameful enough, but to label him a child molester for life, when he was a child himself, is just wrong.

 

But since he IS a registered sex offender, he'll never play in the NFL.

 

I think inadvertently you just illustrated exactly why he wont get a chance - people hear sex offender and immediately say child molester. The public perception of the title is so specific to children and violent rape, and there are non child, non violent crimes that can get the label. Its such a hot button issue in communities that gms worry about the backlash. They don't want there company name on the fliers being distributed alerting the public, they don't want the press conferences. There are a lot of people that are later round talents without that baggage and with similar upside.

[dpberr]

I don't know what to think about the Washington story. It's intriguing that a national media source such as ESPN writes an in-depth, positive article on a guy who is a convicted sex offender.

 

It intrigues me that no NFL team, playing in a win at all costs league, will not kick the tires on the guy. If you consider all of the other pure garbage players bring (spousal abuse, dogs, attempted murder, DUI, manslaughter) to the league, and the league tolerates, it decides to draw the line on the sand for this guy, who's crime was previous to his entry in the league.

 

I just don't get it. Things don't add up here. It makes you wonder if NFL Security did it's homework, and there's something there, something ominous and radioactive that we all don't know.

[davefan66]

Pre- and post draft I was pretty tough on this guy. Now, not so sure he doesn't deserve a chance.

Pretty sad article, could feel the dudes pain.

 

As for the NFL, if Vick and Big Ben didn't do what they did, he may have gotten a chance. All the

NFL needs to do is put stories out supporting the guy, ie: through NFLN, ESPN and so on, and explain

his situation. Yeah, people will automatically think child molester, but need to understand the

circumstances. The dude had one close person in his life, his sister. As much as I don't understand

how they did what they did, I understand the circumstances of his life at the time.

 

His best chance at a shot in the NFL is to end up in the CFL, or UFL and play well enough. Maybe those

are the only leagues he'll ever play in.

 

Maybe he needs to forget the big payday of the NFL and use his past to help other kids. Become a spokesman

of sorts for helping other kids. What he needs to do now is do what is best for his family.

 

As for worrying if he can play in Toronto, or anywhere outside the US, the NFL attorneys would make that

a non-issue.

[justnzane]

I don't blame the cops as much as many here do. I don't think the way they went about things is exactly good, but I would assume for every case like this, there's hundreds where it's an abused girl in a horrible situation who is just too scared to say anything. While I can't say it's acceptable to falsley accuse someone of something like this, it's also very important to make sure actual sexual assault is dealt with immediately. That being the case, mistakes will be made.

 

I find far more fault with a system that is too busy or too strict to take the full story into account. Much like the case of that high school football player that was sent to jail for having sex with his girlfriend who was like two years younger (can't remember all the details, but it was all over ESPN, Oprah, 60 Minutes, etc... a couple years ago), sometimes you have to let the dust settle and let common sense take the place of swift judicial action. When all the details come out in a case like this, the sex offender label should come off.

Genarlow Wilson

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilson_v._State_of_Georgia

[Doc]

I think inadvertently you just illustrated exactly why he wont get a chance - people hear sex offender and immediately say child molester. The public perception of the title is so specific to children and violent rape, and there are non child, non violent crimes that can get the label. Its such a hot button issue in communities that gms worry about the backlash. They don't want there company name on the fliers being distributed alerting the public, they don't want the press conferences. There are a lot of people that are later round talents without that baggage and with similar upside.

Oh, I know why he won't get a chance. And that's (likely only) because he was tried as an adult, for some reason.

Edited August 27, 2010 by Doc

[Mr. WEO]

Pretty ironic that with all the absolute scumbags the NFL lets in and gives second chances to, a kid who screwed up (but didn't hurt anyone) at 16 is the one they blackball.

Well, he did f#ck his sister.

 

 

 

There aren't many of them left, but the taboos that still exist die pretty hard.

 

 

Are you saying this taboo shoud die a little easier?

 

And the guy is already on second child with second woman.

 

Should the Bills give him a second chance because of his hard luck story or because he is better than anyone on the team at his position?

[VanCity]

There is no way that, after reading this article, you cannot feel for Tony Washington. None of us, hopefully, can truly put ourselves in his shoes or condemn his actions as a 16 year-old, but I think we can all reason that he has paid his debt and that, if he is truly the man portrayed in this article, he deserves an opportunity to play more than Arena football. As noted by a number of posters, with our current OL situation, he may be an ideal candidate to bring in and see what he's got. As for those making "humorous" comments, maybe read the article again (or for the first time) and tell me how you found humor in such a disturbing situation.

[KOKBILLS]

 

Should the Bills give him a second chance because of his hard luck story or because he is better than anyone on the team at his position?

 

Yes...

[T master]

It's sad teams don't have the gumption to give this kid a shot. People think being in the NFL is hard. Being in the NFL is for amateurs. Forgiveness is for pros.

 

AMEN !!!!!!

 

IF THE NFL CAN FORGIVE A GUY LIKE DONTE STALLWORTH AND GIVE HIM A SECOND CHANCE AFTER BEING LEGALLY DRUNK AND KILLING SOME ONE WHILE DRIVING HIS CAR, I THINK THIS GUY SHOULD DEFINITELY BE GIVEN A SECOND CHANCE ESPECIALLY GIVEN THE AGE AND THE SITUATION !!!!!

Edited August 27, 2010 by T master

[shoretalk]

From ESPN Magazine. Very good, in depth article. Sad story. I would take a flyer on him, for sure. I suppose I understand why teams haven't so far, I just don't agree with it.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5497517

Thank you so much for the link to this story.

 

What a sad situation ... we as a nation have become so unforgiving and ready to just condemn people for moments in their life rather than for who they really are.

 

I hope that he gets that shot at the CFL and then who knows what can happen after.

[Thoner7]

The fact that he hasnt been signed angers me more than anythign he did wrong. I wish the Bills would sack up and sign this kid.

-We need him as much as he needs us

-The Bills have almost no media exposure, so his singing would not get as much attention here as other teams

-Even bad publicity is good publicity.

-Anyone who reads that article would have a hard time hating on the kid.

 

Lets just say he would be on the team if I were in charge.

[Wagon Circler]

Terrible story. The kid shouldn't have to pay his whole life for a mistake when he was 16.

Unfortunately this thing does happen a lot. All cops care about is making themselves look good.

We shold sign him for next season

[BuffaloBill]

His father left the family and his mother worked 2 jobs to make ends meet. The poor guy had virtually no parental guidance. It's a disgrace the league is shunning him.

 

 

What's hard for the NFL in this situation is that they are set up for the slippery slope. It ultimately boils down to where do they draw the line relative to what is "too bad." Based on this guy's history I would say give him a shot that is very conditional - i.e. one screw up no matter how small and you are out.

[DanInUticaTampa]

Well, he did f#ck his sister.

 

 

He still didn't hurt anyone. She isn't claiming to be a victim or claiming he hurt her. In fact, as far as incest goes, she is JUST as guilty as he is. But I don't think she was arrested or charged with anything. If the incest charge was really that big of a deal, they BOTH should have been arrested and charged. They both gave consent, both particpated, it is insane only one of them got arrested for a crime that took two people to do.

Edited August 27, 2010 by DanInUticaTampa

[BEAST MODE BABY!]

Donte Stallworth served 24 days of a 30 day sentence for KILLING another human being with his car while he was drunk. He then paid off the family of the man he killed with a "financial settlement." And Tony Washington is going to be a PR problem for the NFL? Christ, that's ridiculous.

[NoSaint]

Donte Stallworth served 24 days of a 30 day sentence for KILLING another human being with his car while he was drunk. He then paid off the family of the man he killed with a "financial settlement." And Tony Washington is going to be a PR problem for the NFL? Christ, that's ridiculous.

 

 

But you cant take the situations in a vacuum. It may not be the morally right thing, but donte stallworth has proven he can run a route and catch a ball thrown by an nfl qb. he has proven he can help a team. Unfortunately if a probowl LT did his own sister he would get another chance, tony washington might not. The truth of the matter is, has he ever lined up across from a player that went pro? with such powerhouses as washburn, tarleton state, incarnate word, and the always dominant Angelo State on the schedule for this year -- this kid would be a major roll of the dice WITHOUT the baggage.

 

Also, just because some people projected him as a second round talent, doesnt mean every GM agrees. ::Cough:: Jevan Snead ::Cough:: There were people that graded him as a legit mid round pick, and he went undrafted, and is already without a job. Even in the best case scenario, which is he has second round talent, he has what kind of odds to succeed.... Maybe 1 out of 5-10 second round left tackles become long term starters? 1 out of a lot more then that probowl? I dont know the numbers but if someone did, i would be curious.

 

yes there are a lot of highly talented convicts in the nfl, but for every big ben, there are 12 guys that are borderline talent that will never get there chance for convictions FAR smaller then this. Crimes as simple as Public intoxication knock college players that might have a chance out of discussions every year. I really dont think roger goodell black balled him as much as its just not worth it to anyone right now.

 

And yes, that article had good qualities featured, but it is true that there are warning flags in it as well - and i dont mean recidivism, I mean in how he deals with adversity, and how he views the crime he committed. He may test out as a leader, but when things got really bad, he isolated himself, he gave up on a future, etc... I live in New Orleans and I know it is a city that has programs that would do anything in the world to be able to feature a young black man with leadership qualities to help the community and instead he rode the bus by himself - i know he was 16, but yea, i watch a lot of 16 year olds that have been through a hell of a lot more then him during, and post katrina in this city and they get off the bus at the united way to do something about it. Again, im not saying hes a monster, but im trying to balance a discussion that seems to be ignoring the entire other side of the tony washington story.

 

As much as people have framed him in this discussion as an innocent victim getting railroaded by a conspiracy starting with the police, and now headed by king roger.... there are legit reasons why a team might not want him. would you cut someone to bring him in at this point? I wouldnt be upset by a workout, but I wouldnt be thrilled either, and that lack of excitement comes from more then just his sex offender status, which frankly i dont much care about.

 

Last and certainly not least for his nfl potential, he is 24, and at best a long term project with the level of talent he played against.

[Rob's House]

I can't believe that TE from Tampa, who by all accounts sounds like a straight up rapist who caught a break, can play in the NFL but this guy is shunned.

 

What else is strange is this thread seems to be almost in complete agreement that this guy should get a shot, and it's hard to get the board to agree on anything. It can't possibly be that big of a PR nightmare to give him a tryout.

[yungmack]

If having sex with your sister was grounds to never get a job, no one in the Kentucky hollers would be working.