The accusation that Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison shot a man outside his North Philadelphia bar is extremely disturbing, and if it's true, Harrison deserves to suffer serious consequences.But there's one thing that Harrison has been criticized for that is completely unfair: Opening that bar, as well as an auto garage, in that North Philly neighborhood.
Yesterday on ESPN, Skip Bayless and Sal Paolantonio both criticized Harrison for going back to his old neighborhood, referring to it as unsafe and dangerous and saying that Harrison deserves scrutiny simply for being there at all. They couldn't be more wrong for that.
There are any number of admirable reasons that Harrison might have had for opening a business in North Philadelphia and spending much of his time there when he's not in Indianapolis: Maybe he wants to be an example to young kids, to show them that it's possible for someone from the neighborhood to become successful. Maybe he still has friends and family there he enjoys seeing. Maybe he doesn't see it as a "bad neighborhood" at all, and he thinks it's a perfectly pleasant place.
It's been fascinating to watch the reaction to the Harrison case. Many Colts fans (like the first person who commented on my first post about it) have insisted that this couldn't possibly be true, which is ridiculous, while some in the media act as though he's required to live where they think rich people should live, which is also ridiculous.
ADVERTISEMENT
_thumbnail.jpg "NASCAR Cowboy Hats")
Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. Sounds like two guys who know that job one is to fill up air time.
Posted at 8:30AM on May 7th 2008 by JCN
2. I watched that comment by Sal, but as much as I like keeping it real and giving back to your community and all of that. Owning a business is fine, but as Sal has reported on ESPN and also here locally in the Philly area, Marvin was working as security at his bar. If you have any idea what that neighborhood is like, he would have to be blind and mentally challenged not to know that it is bad. He has to know that being in that neighborhood and being visible is going to cause him problems. Philly has a murder epidemic and a lot of the murders that have occurred over the past year have occurred in that general area. It is about common sense. Have businesses to help develop where you grew up, but have some sense to have someone else handle the business. This type of thing is inevitable, these guys are walking powerball tickets for a thug or a punk. Rashard Mendenhall just got jacked and he has not even cashed in yet. Sean Taylor robbery, there are some reports coming out that this was indeed either an attempted robbery or a flat out hit against Harrison, so he can "keep it real" or stay alive.
Posted at 8:36AM on May 7th 2008 by The Show Stopper