The Enigma of Darren Sharper and Other Sexual Predators
I am watching with interest the case of Darren Sharper. Darren Sharper is a retired National football League player who had an illustrious career with a number of teams. He was selected to the Pro Bowl five times. He was named to the 2000's All-Decade team of the NFL. He also won a Super Bowl ring with the New Orleans Saints in 2010. In college at the College of William and Mary he earned All American honors twice. He actually had a job commentating on NFL games for the NFL Network before it was revealed that he had a number of women who felt that he had taken advantage of them sexually.
Mr. Sharper has been in jail in Los Angeles since last week. He has been accused of being a serial rapist. As of today, police suspect him of raping nine women in five different states. Most of the cases have followed a similar pattern. A woman would have a drink at a bar with Mr. Sharper. Most of them ended up in a hotel room with him with little or no knowledge of the sexual encounter afterwards. Some witnesses have claimed that he had non-consensual sex with these women. My concern would be why would he need to drug women to have sex with them. He does not appear to have a need to do this. I don't think his behavior could be attributed to the effects of head trauma.
What was shocking about these allegations is that Mr. Sharper, along with Reggie Bush, conducted a Football Camp for women only at the W Hotel in New Orleans after his successful Super Bowl run. This event was billed as an effort to get women to understand the intricacies of the NFL game. Many of the women were taking pictures of Mr. Sharper and Saints co-star Reggie Bush. Little did they know that this man could have been patrolling for future victims of his alleged propensity for one night stands aided by laced drinks.
There was a similar precedent when Jerry Sandusky, of Penn State, lured boys into his sick realm by bringing them to football games, and then fondling them. Darren Sharper had also conducted workshops about violence against women and his actions, if he is proven guilty, are the ultimate in betrayal.
I wonder if there is some connection between sports and the need to abuse people sexually. In Philadelphia recently, a number of coaches were exposed as sexual predators. Lou Spadaccini from Neumann Goretti, after a Catholic League title, was charged with giving drugs and alcohol to youth. He was in search of a physical tryst. Eric Romig, James Civello and Fran Murphy all betrayed the trust of the parents and youth that they worked with by attempting to induce sexual favors from their students. I couldn't believe the case of Leon Watson from North Philadelphia. He was a football coach charged with assaulting five of his players. If an individual experiences those types of urges, he or she should seek help before ruining the future of a child.
Mr. Sharper is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. He went to college with Mike Tomlin who is the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Many of his colleagues have remarked about his work ethic and his desire to be the best. His being named to an all-Decade team is a testament to his ability and talent when the average life of an NFL career is four years. What message are we sending to women when someone in his position can drug them and have intercourse without their consent? I hope that more women are careful about who is buying them a drink and watch that they receive it directly from a bartender if they don't know the person well. what woman would assume that a former NFL star and current television personality would potentially be a sexual predator? Please be careful of the company that you keep. Predators come in all shapes and sizes.
Mr. Sharper has been in jail in Los Angeles since last week. He has been accused of being a serial rapist. As of today, police suspect him of raping nine women in five different states. Most of the cases have followed a similar pattern. A woman would have a drink at a bar with Mr. Sharper. Most of them ended up in a hotel room with him with little or no knowledge of the sexual encounter afterwards. Some witnesses have claimed that he had non-consensual sex with these women. My concern would be why would he need to drug women to have sex with them. He does not appear to have a need to do this. I don't think his behavior could be attributed to the effects of head trauma.
What was shocking about these allegations is that Mr. Sharper, along with Reggie Bush, conducted a Football Camp for women only at the W Hotel in New Orleans after his successful Super Bowl run. This event was billed as an effort to get women to understand the intricacies of the NFL game. Many of the women were taking pictures of Mr. Sharper and Saints co-star Reggie Bush. Little did they know that this man could have been patrolling for future victims of his alleged propensity for one night stands aided by laced drinks.
There was a similar precedent when Jerry Sandusky, of Penn State, lured boys into his sick realm by bringing them to football games, and then fondling them. Darren Sharper had also conducted workshops about violence against women and his actions, if he is proven guilty, are the ultimate in betrayal.
I wonder if there is some connection between sports and the need to abuse people sexually. In Philadelphia recently, a number of coaches were exposed as sexual predators. Lou Spadaccini from Neumann Goretti, after a Catholic League title, was charged with giving drugs and alcohol to youth. He was in search of a physical tryst. Eric Romig, James Civello and Fran Murphy all betrayed the trust of the parents and youth that they worked with by attempting to induce sexual favors from their students. I couldn't believe the case of Leon Watson from North Philadelphia. He was a football coach charged with assaulting five of his players. If an individual experiences those types of urges, he or she should seek help before ruining the future of a child.
Mr. Sharper is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. He went to college with Mike Tomlin who is the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Many of his colleagues have remarked about his work ethic and his desire to be the best. His being named to an all-Decade team is a testament to his ability and talent when the average life of an NFL career is four years. What message are we sending to women when someone in his position can drug them and have intercourse without their consent? I hope that more women are careful about who is buying them a drink and watch that they receive it directly from a bartender if they don't know the person well. what woman would assume that a former NFL star and current television personality would potentially be a sexual predator? Please be careful of the company that you keep. Predators come in all shapes and sizes.
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