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By Rickey Hampton, Editor and Founder of The African-American Athlete
It happens every year. Days before the draft rumor and innuendo about potential draftees start flying . It is even worse now, with the advent of social media.
The latest victim/suspect is Ohio State cornerback Gareon Conley, slated to be one of the top defensive backs in the draft, which starts on Thursday night in Philadelphia.
According to reports, Conley is accused of raping a woman a few weeks ago. Conley refutes all of the accusations being made towards him. And, so far, police have yet to charge him of any type of criminal infraction.
Clearly, you don’t know and I don’t know what the truth is in this instance. We may never know. But I do know that Conley should be thought of as innocent, until proven guilty. I also know there is no way in the world that is going to happen.
In professional sports, you are guilty until you are proven innocent. Conley, who was expected to be perhaps a top 10 to 15 pick, may not get drafted at all.
Especially these days, NFL teams have to be extremely careful about drafting players with character issues. The problems that have stemmed from domestic abuse issues with a handful of its players have left the league playing prevent defense. So, the mere accusation of a rape, is enough to take Conley off of many teams draft boards.
Again, I have no idea what the situation is regarding Conley’s innocence or guilt. But experience has taught me that a lot of things come into play when you are talking about a kid soon to go from having not much money at all, to becoming an instant millionaire.
Now, you would think that everyone who knows Conley throughout his life would be happy for him. But not necessarily. There are those who are jealous and envious. And, if given a chance, they will put forth every transgression that Conley has made in his life.
Do you remember that last year on the day of the draft, someone dropped a video of Laremy Tunsil smoking weed in a gas mask during his college days at Ole Miss. Although the incident occurred a long time ago, someone, obviously close to Tunsil, decided to let the world know about it on the day of the draft.
Not only was it embarrassing for Tunsil, it was costly. Instead of becoming a top-5 pick in the draft, Tunsil slid down to the No. 13 pick, costing him millions of dollars that he will never be able to recoup.
In the case of Gareon Conley, first and foremost, I hope the accuser is OK. I hope she didn’t get raped, and perhaps this is some misunderstanding. Also, if she did get rape I hope she finds justice, and peace of mind.
I wish the same for Conley. I hope he is not guilty of this type of evilness. But the reality is for Gareon Conley, whether he is guilty or innocent, he is going to pay a price. And if he is innocent, that is just not right.
