A Life Changed Due To Selfishness and Greed Part 2: The Father's Hands
He was football player drafted in 1997 by the Carolina Panthers. He was a first round 27th pick (for those that don't watch football, being drafted in this round although low is a good thing) with a four year, $3.7 million contract and a $1.3 million signing bonus.
Not bad for a 22-year-old All American wide receiver. Money, good looks, and his entire career ahead of him.
His name? Rae Carruth, former Carolina Panthers star and now convicted felon close to the end of an eighteen year sentence for murder. He wanted to murder both his son's mother and his son but failed. The reason why he wanted to do it was because he didn't want to pay child support. A struggling football with an injury the previous season, he did it because of suspected greed, immaturity and selfishness.
He had one child already, living in Colorado, born during college. He had the reputation in college and the league as a ladies' man. When he was drafted to Charlotte, he had a girlfriend, a young lady, eighteen years old playing house with him. They broke up. She got pregnant and he forced her to have an abortion.
Living the life of a celebrity athlete can be tough and complicated-there are people who suddenly appear as relatives you never knew, and women who throw themselves at your feet. I remember reading about Kobe's relationship with his wife, whom he met when she was 17 and he was 21. He didn't sign a prenuptial agreement, and according to sources, his wife came from a poor family. She was a video model filming a video when they met. (My opinion of his wife is that she is and always will be nothing but a broke gutter rat who obviously married him for his money.) His wife was a senior in high school when they started dating, and she had to drop out due to her relationship with a celebrity. A sidebar about this article was the workshops that were available to NBA rookies regarding money and wealth management, personal relationships, and after league life. Given that some target athletes hoping it will bring instant fame and wealth, these workshops are essential for young rookies. Examples are AI (Allen Iverson), Ryan Leaf and Johnny "No More Football" Manziel, three athletes who made headlines for erratic, stupid behavior. If these workshops genuinely exist, perhaps things would be different for Iverson, Leaf and Manziel.
And they would be different for Carruth too. According to research and articles, Rae was tired of everyone and everything, so it appeared. He was used by women for money and fame, made bad investments and more. The icing on the cake was being injury prone and being benched, thus losing his starting position he earned during his rookie season, where he made a name for himself.
The mismangement of money and financial strain. Being injured and wondering if and when you will reinjure yourself. The stress of being a celebrity athlete handling the fame the comes with it.
Himself. How did he actually feel? Was he taking it day by day? Did he talk to someone about how he was feeling?
Or did he just break, like broken glass that suddenly falls apart after so long with a giant crack? We don't know, only he knows. And as he sits out his sentence in the prison work farm, he will get his freedom back fall 2018. He will walk out of the prison a free man, with only his prison earnings and name. His NFL career behind him, he will look into the sunlight and remember the summer day he met her at a pool party in 1998.
She will be more than a memory for him. For her son, she will be a name. For her mother, she will be always remembered and never forgotten.
And then for him again comes memories of the evening everything happened, and how he got where he is. Had that not happened, things would be different for everyone. His career would've taken off, and he would've been a well known receiver in the NFL for his ability to play, not murder.
The father's hands held the mother's, then did the unthinkable, which nobody expected.
Not bad for a 22-year-old All American wide receiver. Money, good looks, and his entire career ahead of him.
His name? Rae Carruth, former Carolina Panthers star and now convicted felon close to the end of an eighteen year sentence for murder. He wanted to murder both his son's mother and his son but failed. The reason why he wanted to do it was because he didn't want to pay child support. A struggling football with an injury the previous season, he did it because of suspected greed, immaturity and selfishness.
He had one child already, living in Colorado, born during college. He had the reputation in college and the league as a ladies' man. When he was drafted to Charlotte, he had a girlfriend, a young lady, eighteen years old playing house with him. They broke up. She got pregnant and he forced her to have an abortion.
Living the life of a celebrity athlete can be tough and complicated-there are people who suddenly appear as relatives you never knew, and women who throw themselves at your feet. I remember reading about Kobe's relationship with his wife, whom he met when she was 17 and he was 21. He didn't sign a prenuptial agreement, and according to sources, his wife came from a poor family. She was a video model filming a video when they met. (My opinion of his wife is that she is and always will be nothing but a broke gutter rat who obviously married him for his money.) His wife was a senior in high school when they started dating, and she had to drop out due to her relationship with a celebrity. A sidebar about this article was the workshops that were available to NBA rookies regarding money and wealth management, personal relationships, and after league life. Given that some target athletes hoping it will bring instant fame and wealth, these workshops are essential for young rookies. Examples are AI (Allen Iverson), Ryan Leaf and Johnny "No More Football" Manziel, three athletes who made headlines for erratic, stupid behavior. If these workshops genuinely exist, perhaps things would be different for Iverson, Leaf and Manziel.
And they would be different for Carruth too. According to research and articles, Rae was tired of everyone and everything, so it appeared. He was used by women for money and fame, made bad investments and more. The icing on the cake was being injury prone and being benched, thus losing his starting position he earned during his rookie season, where he made a name for himself.
The mismangement of money and financial strain. Being injured and wondering if and when you will reinjure yourself. The stress of being a celebrity athlete handling the fame the comes with it.
Himself. How did he actually feel? Was he taking it day by day? Did he talk to someone about how he was feeling?
Or did he just break, like broken glass that suddenly falls apart after so long with a giant crack? We don't know, only he knows. And as he sits out his sentence in the prison work farm, he will get his freedom back fall 2018. He will walk out of the prison a free man, with only his prison earnings and name. His NFL career behind him, he will look into the sunlight and remember the summer day he met her at a pool party in 1998.
She will be more than a memory for him. For her son, she will be a name. For her mother, she will be always remembered and never forgotten.
And then for him again comes memories of the evening everything happened, and how he got where he is. Had that not happened, things would be different for everyone. His career would've taken off, and he would've been a well known receiver in the NFL for his ability to play, not murder.
The father's hands held the mother's, then did the unthinkable, which nobody expected.
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