Black Legal Issues

Latest T.O. reality show the ultimate cautionary tale

Wed, 23 May 2012 17:37:53 GMT

Terrell Owens might have learned this week that there is such a thing as too much reality.

After producing his own reality show on VH1 for three seasons, the former NFL wide receiver found out that a Dr. Phil appearance is a lot less scripted. Instead, Owens' lack of involvement as a father with his four children by four women gave Dr. Phil a chance to get on his soapbox.

You never want to tee it up for Phil, and Owens made it oh-so-easy.

Turns out T.O.'s reality is very different from the sympathetic "reality" presented when Owens was paying the bills.

Owens appeared on the Dr. Phil show this past week along with three women who said the former NFL star was behind on child-support payments.

How could Mo and Kita -- aka management team Monique Jackson and Kita Williams -- let this happen?

Athletes are no strangers to reality shows. Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh will teach millions of American women how to pronounce his name on an upcoming Fox dating show called "The Choice". Chad Ochocinco had a dating series on VH1. Nets player Kris Humphries had a recurring role on the Kardashians' reality show -- including a celebrity wedding! -- before his role was cut.

But as former Laker Lamar Odom can attest, reality shows aren't always good for your career. He and his Kardashian wife are putting the brakes on their spinoff show so Odom can get his basketball career back on track after being cut by Dallas.

But "The T.O. Show" seemed to work for Owens. A sampling of Owens' VH1 storylines: T.O. gets the key to the city of Buffalo! T.O. gives his old high school football team a pep talk in Alabama! T.O. goes with Mo and Kita to Las Vegas! T.O. dates supermodel Jessica White in Los Angeles! Incidentally, one of the highlights of that episode was when she told Owens' management team "You can Google me," when they asked what she did for a living.

But when Owens told Dr. Phil he hasn't had time to visit his children with any regularity because of his travel schedule?

Facepalm.

The upshot: Owens, 38, has been taken to court for failure to pay child support. He has little left from the tens of millions he earned in the course of his career. He rarely sees his children. One mother said -- and Owens did not contradict her -- that he has asked why he has to spend money for birthday and Christmas presents when he already pays child support.

Or this gem: One of the few times he tried to see all of his children was for an episode of his show. Some of the mothers agreed, others said no. But using your kids as props when you have limited involvement with them is so …: well, you explain it, Phil.

So here is a plea to the NFL and NFL Players Association. Please make T.O.'s appearance on Dr. Phil part of the rookie symposium. It is one thing to give the percentages of retired players who divorce or go into bankruptcy, and it's quite another to see it happening in front of you.

And who better to use as a poster child than Owens? He really did capitalize on all the fruits of his NFL labors. He had a much longer career than most athletes can hope for. He achieved a level of fame that is enviable -- access to cars, homes and gorgeous women.

To see him squirming in front of a firing squad of angry mothers and a self-righteous television host is the ultimate cautionary tale.

Who's Who unveil its inaugural edition of Who's Who in Black Dallas at the Black Academy of Arts and Letters in Dallas.

Wed, 23 May 2012 16:20:37 GMT

Who's Who Publishing Co. on Thursday will unveil its inaugural edition of Who's Who in Black Dallas at the Black Academy of Arts and Letters in Dallas.

The 300-page Dallas book features more than 200 people, including Bishop T.D. Jakes, leader of The Potter's House; U.S. District Court Judge Sam A. Lindsay;
McDonald's franchisee Roland Parish; John Price, president of the University of North Texas at Dallas; Ann Williams, founder of the Dallas Black Dance Theatre.

Who's Who in Black Dallas is one of more than 26 such books in various cities across the country.

Attorney Derriel McCorvey files suit against NFL on behalf of former NFL Players

Wed, 23 May 2012 16:05:12 GMT

Former LSU and NFL football player turned attorney has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of other former NFL players against the league claiming the NFL failed to inform them about brain injury risks associated with the sport.

Of the 11 players in the lawsuit, seven played at LSU or Southern University and eight live in Louisiana, said Derriel McCorvey, a Lafayette-based attorney who was a second-team All-Southeastern Conference safety for LSU in 1990. McCorvey also spent one season with the NFL's Indianapolis Colts in 1993.

The players named in the class action suit include former LSU greats Willie Teal and Lyman White and Southern standouts Charlie Granger and Raymond Jones.

"There are players that are suffering various illnesses related to some of the violent trauma," McCorvey said in a telephone interview.

The suit is the second McCorvey has filed on behalf of former NFL players against the league for concussion-associated problems.

The first suit, filed April 13 in the United States District Court Eastern District of Louisiana, includes former LSU standouts Ronnie Haliburton, Michael Brooks and Justin Vincent.

"We'll have plenty more, because so many players are joining the litigation against the league," McCorvey said.

The second suit, filed Friday, says all 11 players suffered some kind of brain damage as a result of concussions and brain injuries from their playing days and they can no longer find work because of those symptoms.

Their symptoms, which the suit says will likely last the rest of their lives, include depression, memory loss, severe headaches and "loss of executive functioning."

"We're seeing anger, uncontrollable anger, depression and mood swings," McCorvey said. "It's really that whole spectrum."

The suit also names five of the players' wives as plaintiffs because they have to care for their husbands, McCorvey said.

The suit says the NFL failed to "take effective action to protect players and/or failure to inform players of the true risks associated with concussions, brain injury, and brain trauma" before, during and after the players' careers.

The suits requests the league to create a program to monitor all former players' medical conditions related to brain injuries.

The NFL formed the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee in 1994 to research concussion-related problems, but the suit says that the NFL "hand-picked" a committee of "unqualified physicians" to conceal medical evidence about the dangers of concussions.

"At the end of the day, the NFL has not only failed to satisfy its duty to take the reasonable steps necessary to protect players from devastating head injuries, they have done everything in their power to hide the issue and mislead the players concerning the risks associated with concussions," the suit says.

The University of North Carolina's Center for the Study of Retired Athletes has published studies finding correlations between football-related injuries and depression and dementia, the suit says.

The suit references a 2000 study that surveyed more than 1,000 former NFL players which found that more than 60 percent of those players suffered at least one concussion and 26 percent suffered three or more.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has levied tough penalties against players for vicious hits in recent years, and he suspended several former and current New Orleans Saints players, coaches and executives for their alleged role in a "bounty" program against opposing players for "knockout" and "cart-off" hits.

The suit notes the NFL's recent actions against the Saints but says the NFL has glorified violent hits for most of its history.

"It has encouraged its players to think of themselves as gladiators," the suit says.

Both suits McCorvey has filed also name Riddell, the NFL's helmet designer and manufacturer, as a defendant.

An NFL spokesman did not return an email message for comment.

Obama challenged in Arkansas primary

Wed, 23 May 2012 10:52:02 GMT

President Obama won his 34th and 35th consecutive Democratic primary contests on Tuesday night, claiming victories in Arkansas and Kentucky.

But his margin was surprisingly small in Arkansas — a state in which he was opposed by Tennessee lawyer John Wolfe, who had previously been on the presidential primary ballot in Louisiana, Missouri and New Hampshire and will be on the ballot in Texas next week. Wolfe has also run unsuccessfully for Congress four times.

With 61 percent of precincts reporting in Arkansas, Obama took 60 percent to 40 percent for Wolfe. In Kentucky, with nearly all precincts reporting, 42.1 percent of Democratic primary voters opted for “uncommitted” rather than backing the president, who received 57.9 percent.

Those results come two weeks to the day after Keith Judd, a convicted felon incarcerated in Texas, won 41 percent of the vote against Obama in the West Virginia primary.

Although the results haven’t stopped Obama’s march to renomination — he officially clinched the Democratic nod on April 3 — they remain an indicator of not-insignificant pockets of unrest within his party.

That phenomenon isn’t limited to the 2012 election.

In 2008, Obama underperformed the showing of Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.) in the 2004 election in places such as Arkansas and West Virginia, even as he was sweeping to a major national victory.

One easy explanation — and the one regularly espoused by some Democrats — for Obama’s struggles in Appalachia and portions of the South is simply that some white voters will not vote for an African American for president.

But although no one doubts that race may be a factor, exit polling suggests that the opposition to Obama goes beyond it.

And seasoned political observers who have studied the politics of these areas say race may be less of a problem for Obama than the broader cultural disconnect that many of these voters feel with the Democratic Party.

“Race is definitely a factor for some Texans but not the majority,” said former congressman Charles W. Stenholm (D-Tex.). “The most significant factor is the perception/reality that the Obama administration has leaned toward the ultra-left viewpoint on almost all issues.”

In Appalachia, many people are angry at the Environmental Protection Agency’s approach to mining, arguing that the Obama administration has made it more difficult for people in coal country to make ends meet.

In 2004, Kerry took 38 percent of the vote among white, non-college-educated people — shorthand for the blue-collar voters who were once a core part of the Democratic constituency but have faded away considerably over the past 30 years.

Among that same group in 2008, Obama took 40 percent of the vote, not a statistically significant difference from Kerry. Bill Clinton, a son of the South and someone far more culturally aligned with blue-collar voters, carried non-college-educated voters by a single point in 1992 and 1996.

“In states like West Virginia and Oklahoma, it’s just that voters are down on national Democrats generally, and I don’t believe it is due to race,” noted former congressman Martin Frost (D-Tex.).

Regardless of the reasoning, it’s clear that there is a bloc of Democratic voters in every state who want to register their opposition to Obama.

In the 16 states in which voters were given an alternative to Obama on the Democratic primary ballot — whether it be an actual candidate, a write-in or simply “uncommitted” — Obama averaged 84.6 percent of the vote.

In the five states where there was a named opponent, though, Obama’s share of the vote was 72.7 percent.

Although the vast majority of those states are like Arkansas and Kentucky in that no one expects them to be genuinely competitive in the November election between Obama and presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney, notable exceptions exist.

In a non-competitive Democratic primary in the swing state of New Hampshire in January, a smattering of candidates took 18 percent of the Democratic vote, including 10 percent who chose to write in a candidate rather than back Obama.

Similarly, this month in North Carolina, which will host the Democratic National Convention this summer and is considered a tossup state, more than 20 percent of Democratic primary voters chose the “uncommitted” option over Obama.

Considering that he won North Carolina in the 2008 election by 0.4 percent over Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) — a 49.9 percent to 49.5 percent squeaker — even a minor abandonment of Obama by self-identified Democrats could make a difference this time around.

Football star Donald Driver is new 'Dancing With the Stars' champ

Wed, 23 May 2012 09:47:13 GMT

He already has a Super Bowl ring, and now football star Donald Driver can add the "Dancing With the Stars" mirrorball trophy to his awards collection.

Donald Driver and Peta Murgatroyd hold up their trophies after they were selected "Dancing with the Stars" champions Tuesday May 21, 2012. They won the ABC dance show Tuesday after wowing audiences and judges with his kickin' country-themed freestyle routine.

The Green Bay Packers receiver won the ABC dance show Tuesday after wowing audiences and judges with his kickin' country-themed freestyle routine. He and partner Peta Murgatroyd hoisted the glittery prize above their heads after being named the new "Dancing" champs.

Streamers and confetti rained down from the ceiling, filling the ballroom as they celebrated. Driver's wife and children joined him on the dance floor.

With just one point separating the three finalists, it was up to the viewers to pick the winner.

He and his fellow finalists, Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins and Cuban actor William Levy, each earned perfect scores for their last performances Tuesday. Jenkins came into the final contest with a perfect 60 points; Driver and Levy each had 59.

Judges' scores combined with viewer votes determined the result.

Contestants eliminated throughout the show's 10-week season reunited for the two-hour finale. Martina Navratilova, Gavin DeGraw, Jack Wagner, Jaleel White, Sherri Shepherd, Melissa Gilbert, Roshon Fegan, Maria Menounos and Gladys Knight all donned costumes Tuesday for one last dance.

Knight did double performance duty, also singing "The Way We Were." Kelly Clarkson also performed on the show.

The next round of "Dancing With the Stars" will feature contestants from past seasons.

Defendant says drum major wanted to be hazed

Wed, 23 May 2012 09:00:43 GMT

A Florida A&M drum major who died after being hazed on a bus asked to go through the ordeal because it was seen as an honor, a criminal defendant in the case said in a deposition released Wednesday

Twenty-six-year-old Robert Champion had asked all season to go through the hazing ritual, defendant Jonathan Boyce (pictured in the center) said.

"It's a respect thing, you know," Boyce told detectives. "Well, he was wanting to do it all ... all season."

Champions' parents have said their son was a vocal opponent of the routine hazing in the band.

In an interview earlier this year, Champion's father, Robert Sr., said the reason his son was hazed was because of his opposition to it.

Prosecutors are releasing more than 1,500 pages of evidence against the 13 people charged in Champion's death last year. Eleven defendants are charged with a third-degree felony and two are charged with misdemeanors.

FAMU's famed Marching 100 band was suspended shortly after the incident, and officials have said it will remain sidelined at least through the 2012-2013 school year.

The school also tried to fire band director Julian White. White's dismissal was placed on hold while the criminal investigation unfolded, but he insisted that he did nothing wrong and fought for months to get reinstated. He announced his retirement earlier this month.

Newspaper: 4 witnesses change stories in Trayvon Martin shooting

Wed, 23 May 2012 08:14:37 GMT

At least four key witnesses have changed their stories about what they saw the night George Zimmerman fatally shot Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla., the Orlando Sentinel reported Tuesday.

The report comes after state prosecutors released about half the evidence they have in their second-degree murder case against Zimmerman.

The witnesses, known publicly only by numbers, first talked to Sanford police and later to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and state prosecutors.

Among the changes, according to the Sentinel:

Witness 2: A young woman from the Retreat at Twin Lakes community, where Martin, 17, was shot Feb. 26, first told investigators she saw two men running and a fist fight. She later said she only saw one person running and couldn’t distinguish much because she had removed her contact lenses.

Witness 12: A young mother in the townhome community first said she saw two men on the ground but wasn’t sure who was on top; she later said Zimmerman was on top because she recognized his size based on news reports.

Witness 13: A male neighbor first said Zimmerman, with a bloodied head, told him he had to shoot Martin because “he was beating up on me,” and to please call Zimmerman’s wife. He later went into detail and described Zimmerman’s tone right after the shooting as casual, like the shooting was “nothing.”

Witness 6: A male neighbor, whose story change was initially reported Friday, first told police Martin was on top of Zimmerman and throwing down punches mixed martial arts style. He also first said Zimmerman was calling for help. The man later said he wasn’t sure who was yelling for help, and that Martin may have merely pinned Zimmerman to the ground. He was still sure, however, that Martin was on top.

Terrell Owens foreclosure fight over Miami Condo

Wed, 23 May 2012 07:17:19 GMT

No light at the end of the tunnel for Terrell Owens -- It's been discovered that the former NFL star allegedly owes over a million bucks on a fancy Miami beach condo ... and now, the bank wants to foreclose on it.

It's one of the last homes Terrell still owns after being forced to sell off several others -- most recently in Dallas -- but Deutsche National Bank sued him in April, claiming he still owes $1.47 million on the property ... and hasn't made a payment in 6 months.

According to mortgage docs attached to the lawsuit, Terrell originally took out a loan worth $1.55 million in 2006 ... and had faithfully been making monthly payments of $5,126 ... that is, until last November.

Terrell has responded to the lawsuit, claiming the bank "lacks standing" to foreclose on the property -- and he refuses to admit there's an outstanding balance problem.

Teen's punishment goes viral on Internet

Wed, 23 May 2012 07:10:56 GMT

A Houston mother found an unusual way to punish her young daughter who got into the family's liquor cabinet and posted a picture of herself - with a bottle - online. Now, her punishment is going viral.

You've heard of judges sentencing convicted defendants to stand at the scene of their crime with a sign. This is the social media equivalent.

Like most parents do -- or should -- ReShonda Tate Billingsley had the big talk with her daughter about the do's and don'ts of social media.

"You know what's right and wrong, no inappropriate pictures of you half naked. Inappropriate pictures are what I called them," Tate Billingsley said.

Just over a week ago, she learned the lesson didn't take when her daughter posted a photo on the tween picture-sharing site Instagram. She was posing with an unopened bottle of vodka captioned "Wish I could drink this."

"Even though we'd had the conversation, her friends were posting much worse than that so in her mind this was tame, I'm not doing anything," Tate Billingsley said.

Mom disagreed and this was the consequence -- another picture of her daughter, her face not shown, holding a sign that read "Since I want to take pictures holding liquor, I'm obviously not ready for social media and will be taking a hiatus until I learn what is and isn't appropriate to post. Bye-bye." Then Billingsley hit send to her daughter's Instagram site and her own Facebook page.

"If social media is where you wanna show out, then social media is where you'll get shown out," Tate Billingsley said.

It went viral on Facebook as her friends shared it 11,000 on the first day. Billingsley said her daughter had a melt down on Day 1. By Day 2, she was reading parents' posts on her mom's Facebook page in support of the punishment.

"And she was just like 'Wow, I didn't really think about this,'" Tate Billingsley said.

"There's a better way and that's building on positive things, helping kids make better choices and understanding consequences," said Dr. John Vincent, a University of Houston professor and clinical psychologist.

Tate Billingsley says her daughter is now planning to start counseling her social media friends about what's acceptable behavior, although she did tear up the sign that her mom made.

Noose found hanging at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant

Tue, 22 May 2012 14:37:54 GMT

The Tennessee Valley Authority says it is investigating after a noose was found at the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in Alabama.

A spokesman for the nation's largest public utility, Travis Brickey, said he didn't know if investigators considered the incident racially motivated. He also said he couldn't give further details after the discovery at the plant near Athens, Ala.

The Knoxville News Sentinel reported it was the fifth time a noose has been reported near or at a TVA facility in four years.

In an employee newsletter, TVA President and Chief Executive Officer Tom Kilgore praised those who reported the noose to authorities and promised a full investigation.

"While this appears to be an isolated incident, it is serious and wil not be tolerated," Kilgore said in a statement in the newsletter.

The utility said the agency's Office of Inspector General was investigating.

In a 2009 report, TVA's Office of the Inspector General described two incidents involving nooses at the Shawnee Fossil Plant near Paducah, Ky.

In one, a supervisor noticed a noose in a photograph of scaffolding, the report indicated. In another, a unit operator tied a noose in view of an African-American employee. The report does not note the race of the person tying the noose. It said he untied the noose and apologized after being told by another worker that his behavior could cost him his job.

And In September 2008, a hangman's noose was found at Tennessee's Kingston Fossil Plant. While this was being investigated, another noose was found hanging 30 feet up on a steel structure outside the plant, and investigators said the noose had been there for years.