Smarten Up, Tinsley
Monday, December 10, 2007
With Sean Taylor's body still warm in the ground, you'd think that professional atheletes would, you know, stay home after dark. Not Jamaal Tinsley: for the third time in 14 months, he's been involved in some late-night beef. This most recent situation involved some static over the amount of flash Tinsley had at Cloud 9, a club in Indiana (I mean, really, do you have to come 3 whips deep, including your Benz, your Charger AND your Rolls Royce?)... you'd think after guys like Eddy Curry and Antoine Walker were robbed (at gunpoint, no less) over the summer, as well as NFL player Dunta Robinson being tied up and robbed, as well as the aforementioned Taylor incident, that known atheletes would try to play it really close.
The problem is, not only is Tinsley on that flashy nonsense, but upon realizing he's being tailed, he pulls into a hotel parking lot, as if to "handle" his "beef", which is essentially hateration in the wee hours of the morning. I guess he wasn't expecting to have a .223 assault rifle pulled on him and his crew. Sadly, Joe Qatato (the "equipment manager" for the Pacers, which just sounds like a glorified weed carrier position in NBA terms) was shot in the elbows. On a side note, I know that the majority of the blame rests on Tinsley's shoulders, but is this Qatato guy going to get punished too? Should HE be out some 2/3AM in the morning? Anyways, you have to love how Tinsley's brother, James, has the 9MM on him, and proceeded to let off shots (at least he had a permit), and that Tinsley was riding with some guy with the last name of Toon, who had a warrant out for his arrest due to dealing a controlled dangerous substance!
Does the NBA have a charm school? Stories like these are what make James Whitlock hate on not only the Hip-Hop community, but black males who play any sport. I haven't seen his take on this, but I can imagine him having a field day with his "Hip-Hop athelete" talk, and using Tinsley as the shining star. I'm not on that at all. But you'd think, with someone who is in the national eye for 82 nights out of the year, plus the playoffs if they are lucky, that they'd conduct themselves a bit classier. I'm not saying to stop being who you are, or being an instant role model, but why do you need to be the last one out of the club? Why must you flaunt your wears at the spots where you know full well crews that mirror the Street Family would be hanging out? You are a target, Jamaal. I understand a man needs to protect his own, and has the right to go wherever he pleases, but you'd think that someone who is a professional would have the common sense to conduct himself in a professional manner outside of the court. (Word to Conrad Brunner)
Larry Bird and the rest of the Pacers front office are in a tough bind. Ever since the Pistons/Pacers brawl, Indiana has been having to deal with the off-court transgressions of their players, which is unfair considering that guys like Stephen Jackson and Tinsley are great players, especially Tinsley, who is having a solid year so far. It hurts but these situations deserve one thing: tough love. Bench dude or kick him out. You can't keep giving someone 2nd and 3rd and 5th chances. Either ish or get off the pot, because it could have very well been Tinsley getting shot/killed, and then what? All for what, a few seconds of envy?
Fix yourself, Tinsley - you're officially on thin ice, and a lot of people are riding for you right now.
Posted bykhal at 1:24 PM
Labels: In The Papers, Indiana Pacers
