A weekend of "madness"

Written by: stacia_doss.

Friday evening to this Monday has brought about a pretty shocking turn of events in sports. The latest being that Peyton Manning made the decision to join the Denver Broncos, dismissing the San Francisco 49ers, the Tennessee Titans, and anyone else who wanted him as their new, "seasoned" QB.

In basketball news, "March madness" truly proved to be madness this weekend. Underdogs many were rooting for like Murray State and VCU's trails ended this weekend. Who would have thought that Duke, Mizzou, or even Memphis would be knocked out of the tournament as early as they were? It was a shocker, and pretty heartbreaking (to say the least) for many fans. I know how disappointed I was watching my Memphis Tigers get to this point only to be beaten by an underestimated team (The St. Louis U. Billikens) under the leadership of a great coach. I have to give the Billikens credit, though. Even though they were eliminated in the following game against Michigan State, the team played a good, physical game in both rounds. I just hope that my alma mater Tigers can go all the way next season during their last school year in C-USA.

Peyton Manning. He's no doubt a great player, but I wasn't seeing Denver in his future. I thought, for sure, he'd join the Titans. Denver is expected to trade Tim Tebow. But what happens if 35-year-old Manning gets hurt? Tebow would seem to be a fitting back up, but time will only tell if he will move on to another team.

With Z-Bo's (Zach Randolph's) return the Memphis Grizzlies faltered against the Toronto Raptors on Friday, but were able to come back with a 97-92 win against the Washington Wizards on Sunday.

I'm anticipating the first weekend in April, because I will be returning to Memphis to watch the Grizz face the NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks. Many photos will be taken and posted upon my return!

**Update: Tim Tebow was traded on March 21 to the New York Jets along with a Denver Broncos' seventh round pick player in exchange for a 4th round pick. He will be joining Mark Sanchez in New York!

From prison inmate to Morehouse grad.

Written by: stacia_doss

Genarlow Wilson.

Does this name ring a bell? It may not for a lot of people, but it does for me. The other morning, something made me turn my radio to something I don’t normally listen to. I heard an announcement on the Tom Joyner radio show about Genarlow Wilson. Joyner explained how Wilson had recently graduated (or is going to graduate) with honors from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. I couldn’t help but smile at the sound of this news.

I first randomly stumbled upon Mr. Wilson’s story in 2007, the summer after my first year in college. His background can be explained here (from Morehouse.edu):

“In 2003, he was 17, a Douglas County (Ga.) High School senior, a football star and homecoming king who was fielding interest letters from Ivy League schools. But during a party, he was videotaped while a 15-year-old classmate performed consensual oral sex on him.

An old Georgia law considered that child molestation and a felony, carrying 10 years in prison since the girl was under 16. Through a quirk in the law, had they had intercourse he would have only faced a year in jail.

Wilson was found guilty and sent to prison.

The sentence’s harshness was denounced by the likes of civil rights leaders Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson along with former President Jimmy Carter. Heavy criticism forced Georgia lawmakers to change the crime to a misdemeanor punishable to a year in jail.

But it wasn’t retroactive, meaning the law spurred by Wilson wouldn’t free him. The Georgia Supreme Court eventually deemed Wilson’s sentence was cruel and unusual. He was released in October 2007 after two years in prison.”

The story gained a lot of attention and some people were outraged. Wilson maintained his innocence. Though the video presented in court showed the young woman willingly performing oral sex on Wilson and the other young men present at the party, the young woman said she was too intoxicated to remember engaging in such acts. (Yes, remember this was a 15-year-old with a 17-year-old).

During the time that I read his story, Wilson was still in jail. I found out later that year about his release but I never heard anything about him after that. Issues like this (possibly mis-directed?) sodomy law, (among others instances like this and this case) show how backward some southern states, and particularly, the state of Georgia was in 2003 and still is. But Wilson did not let that stop him from being a successful young man. He may not be playing in the NFL but he has overcome adversity and accomplished success despite the one reckless night that cost him years of his life in prison.

I encourage you to read more about him. You probably won't hear the positive outcome of his story on CBS or CNN or ABC, but you won't have to look hard to find out about his jailing. The announcement on the radio is all I could find about Wilson's success at Morehouse, but I will continue looking online. He has been criticized for being honored by his accomplishments, but I believe that his punishment was by no means equivalent to his "crime."