Denver Native (Carol)
03-08-2009, 11:41 AM
http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_11862597
When The Dude was little, I used to consult with him on sports issues of the day to get a kid's perspective, or a fan's. But in the case of Brandon Marshall, I went to him as an expert.
The Dude, son of a sportswriter, is taking a college class called "Brain and Behavior," which was obviously the question I had about Marshall.
I wanted to know how a bright guy who lectures kids about making good choices keeps making bad ones himself. I wanted to know if it had something to do with the limbic system, sometimes called the emotional brain.
Flash back nine months to Wyatt-Edison Charter School, where Marshall stood before a couple dozen of the older kids in the Rev. Leon Kelly's after-school program.
"If you Google my name, you'll see a lot of negative things because I made mistakes," he told them.
"So I'm not someone here talking to you guys because I'm Mr. Perfect. No. I'm from the same neighborhood you guys are from, the same type of environment, and I'm speaking to you guys from my heart, and it's real.
"I don't want to live like my mom and dad, or some of my family members, where it's week by week, check by check, where it's a struggle. You guys know how it is. No hot water. Bills ain't paid. No cellphone. No food in the 'frigerator.
"I been through it. I been through a whole winter where I didn't have no hot water, no heat. We heated up our house with the oven. So I know what some of you guys are going through. I know it. I still have family that's going through the same thing. You don't want to live that way. You have a chance to make your own decisions and your own choices right now. . . .
"Like I said, I made mistakes. I made mistakes recently, I made mistakes a long time ago. It's what you do, it's how you bounce back from it, if you become a better person."
Marshall's arrest on disorderly conduct charges in Atlanta a week ago for a fight with his fiancee on the sidewalk near his home is similar to his previous run-ins with the law — other than the DUI, subsequently pleaded down — except it was a different girlfriend. All the others had involved the same woman. There was some hope among his friends and supporters that if the two of them stayed away from each other, everything would settle down.
Last weekend's incident wouldn't be a big deal if Marshall weren't a famous athlete with a rap sheet. Neither party was injured, neither wanted to testify against the other and charges were dropped the following morning.
Still, the big wide receiver's propensity for violent confrontations with women grows more disturbing with each incident and clearly violates the NFL personal conduct policy, which specifically includes "domestic violence and other forms of partner abuse" among the acts likely to draw league discipline.
Commissioner Roger Goodell gave Marshall a three-game suspension last year for a similar incident, then reduced it to one on appeal. Outsiders are guessing anywhere from four to eight weeks on this one. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said it would be inappropriate to speculate.
"We will review the facts," Aiello said. "There is no firm timeline. It will be addressed as expeditiously as possible."
When I asked if it will matter that charges were dropped, he said it would be one factor. When I asked if Marshall's suspension last year would matter, he said that would be a factor, too.
So I asked The Dude if Marshall's conflicting behavior — his rationality with kids and irrationality with fiancees — might be a right brain/left brain thing, or a thalamus thing, or even a hypothalamus thing. Unfortunately, The Dude responded not as a college student but as a football fan.
Marshall, he said, seems to be ruled by his emotions pretty much all the time. He cited his passion playing the game, a few of the things he's said and his relentless attempts to extend plays, even when there's nothing there.
The week of his suspension last year, I asked Marshall if he thought he would have a better grip on himself going forward.
"You know what?" he said. "I'm still the same person. I'm still the same guy. All I can do now is continue to put myself in better environments, but I'm the same guy."
Truer words he has not spoken.
When The Dude was little, I used to consult with him on sports issues of the day to get a kid's perspective, or a fan's. But in the case of Brandon Marshall, I went to him as an expert.
The Dude, son of a sportswriter, is taking a college class called "Brain and Behavior," which was obviously the question I had about Marshall.
I wanted to know how a bright guy who lectures kids about making good choices keeps making bad ones himself. I wanted to know if it had something to do with the limbic system, sometimes called the emotional brain.
Flash back nine months to Wyatt-Edison Charter School, where Marshall stood before a couple dozen of the older kids in the Rev. Leon Kelly's after-school program.
"If you Google my name, you'll see a lot of negative things because I made mistakes," he told them.
"So I'm not someone here talking to you guys because I'm Mr. Perfect. No. I'm from the same neighborhood you guys are from, the same type of environment, and I'm speaking to you guys from my heart, and it's real.
"I don't want to live like my mom and dad, or some of my family members, where it's week by week, check by check, where it's a struggle. You guys know how it is. No hot water. Bills ain't paid. No cellphone. No food in the 'frigerator.
"I been through it. I been through a whole winter where I didn't have no hot water, no heat. We heated up our house with the oven. So I know what some of you guys are going through. I know it. I still have family that's going through the same thing. You don't want to live that way. You have a chance to make your own decisions and your own choices right now. . . .
"Like I said, I made mistakes. I made mistakes recently, I made mistakes a long time ago. It's what you do, it's how you bounce back from it, if you become a better person."
Marshall's arrest on disorderly conduct charges in Atlanta a week ago for a fight with his fiancee on the sidewalk near his home is similar to his previous run-ins with the law — other than the DUI, subsequently pleaded down — except it was a different girlfriend. All the others had involved the same woman. There was some hope among his friends and supporters that if the two of them stayed away from each other, everything would settle down.
Last weekend's incident wouldn't be a big deal if Marshall weren't a famous athlete with a rap sheet. Neither party was injured, neither wanted to testify against the other and charges were dropped the following morning.
Still, the big wide receiver's propensity for violent confrontations with women grows more disturbing with each incident and clearly violates the NFL personal conduct policy, which specifically includes "domestic violence and other forms of partner abuse" among the acts likely to draw league discipline.
Commissioner Roger Goodell gave Marshall a three-game suspension last year for a similar incident, then reduced it to one on appeal. Outsiders are guessing anywhere from four to eight weeks on this one. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said it would be inappropriate to speculate.
"We will review the facts," Aiello said. "There is no firm timeline. It will be addressed as expeditiously as possible."
When I asked if it will matter that charges were dropped, he said it would be one factor. When I asked if Marshall's suspension last year would matter, he said that would be a factor, too.
So I asked The Dude if Marshall's conflicting behavior — his rationality with kids and irrationality with fiancees — might be a right brain/left brain thing, or a thalamus thing, or even a hypothalamus thing. Unfortunately, The Dude responded not as a college student but as a football fan.
Marshall, he said, seems to be ruled by his emotions pretty much all the time. He cited his passion playing the game, a few of the things he's said and his relentless attempts to extend plays, even when there's nothing there.
The week of his suspension last year, I asked Marshall if he thought he would have a better grip on himself going forward.
"You know what?" he said. "I'm still the same person. I'm still the same guy. All I can do now is continue to put myself in better environments, but I'm the same guy."
Truer words he has not spoken.