Haven’t gone through the whole thread but is everyone really that naive about snitching?
i even saw a poster on here say he would never have someone on his team who didn’t report a felony. Do we understand the way many players in the league grew up? Many people from working class upbringings are taught from an early age to never go to the police and that is a cultural pillar of the community.
I am willing to bet every single NFL team has multiple players who have witnessed felonies. The question is not about right or wrong right now, it’s about expecting a kid to buck all he’s learned growing up and alienate himself from his social circle. Obviously the morally right choice is to say something, but life isn’t that easy.
My main point is the naivety of many posters here when it comes to reporting crimes. You think he gets to tell and go home to never hear about this again? Friends turn to fatal enemies quick when snitching is involved. Telling could result in him being hunted down, family/friends looking for revenge, and various witness intimidation tactics.
Now that he’s had to tell in order to salvage his future, I’m sure he’s going to have to watch his back for the rest of his life. The anger and pain families feel (justified or not) when one of their own is sent to prison is strong. Go look up “witness tampering” and you’ll read plenty of stories where completely innocent bystanders who step up get killed, beaten, or have their families targeted.
Again, in no way am I saying it’s right to not report a felony. My only point is that snitching on people who commit murder isn’t an easy thing to do in reality. Maybe the idea sounds simple, but actually dealing with all that comes with that can be life-threatening.
And to the “he shouldn’t have been there” folks, I get that too. But it’s a tale as old as time. Young kid from rough neighborhood makes it to the big leagues and is being advised to leave all his friends behind and has a tough time doing it because they grew up together and you don’t want to just abandoned your friends.
He could’ve very well just been enjoying a night out with friends as 22 year olds do and someone decided to react to a fight much more aggressively than anyone thought. People get drunk with guns and don’t exactly tell everyone their detailed plans, sometimes people make split second decisions that can decide the fate of others.
Anyway, these type of circumstances are a lot more common than many here think. You get stuck between a rock and a hard place between cutting off all your former relationships and still being friends with unsavory characters.
We are not the “Morality Police”, just try to understand people do not all see things the same and your analysis may be far from the truth. I find it’s always best to let these things play out before jumping in. This is actually my first post on the subject.
