By CHRIS RASMUSSEN
Cynics like myself reacted skeptically to the news that the
Brigade signed often-troubled quarterback Quincy Carter. After all, most in life consider themselves lucky to receive one chance to do something they enjoy; professional athletes like Carter routinely receive six.
Consider this: The Brigade's human resources department wouldn't have looked twice at Carter's résumé if he were applying for an office job.
For every article written about professional athletes seeking redemption, almost inevitably there is one of a further fall from grace concerning the same player: Steve Howe, Darryl Strawberry, Doc Gooden, Roy Tarpley, Micheal Ray Richardson ...
Quincy Carter should not care about cynics like me. The only thing that matters is that he remains sober.
In fact, his focus should be today, not Sunday. Today, he leads a sober life, and every day an addict remains sober is a miracle. Today, he realizes he does things he was not capable of when he was using, which is as close to a spiritual experience that most have in their lifetime. Today, he is employed at doing something he loves and this should be a source of gratitude, irrespective of the league or city in which he plays.
It is possible to remain sober -- many do so without people cheering them on, in heroic obscurity. Most of us were never blessed with what Carter was born with, although some have an understanding of how it went wrong.
I pray for his recovery.
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Quincy Carter was also given a multi-million dollar contract with the Dallas Cowboys.
To now play with the worst team in Arena football would be similar to playing a pick-up football game on Ward Parkway. He had his chances.
I'm always ambivalent about stories like this ... I'm a believer in redemption, but shouldn't that redemption be private? Does the public have to glorify a redemption for it to be real? Addictive public personalities probably have a harder time staying sober because public acclaim is just a different drug and once the cheering stops, back to the bottle or crack pipe or, in Rush Limbaugh's case, the illegally obtained prescription bottle.
I realize that someone like Quincy Carter probably doesn't have many other opportunities to earn a living but I'm sorry, the guy was given a free university education for his football skills ... if he failed to capitalize on it, that's not on us.
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