Denver Bronco Darrent Williams Killed...

[AKA_Monet]

Originally Posted by DeltAlum

It used to be a real dive --

The street where the shooting took place is not really what I would consider "downtown," ...Some of the homeless sleep under the bridges that cross the culvert.

I don't think I would classify either location as particularly "ghetto,' at least in the truest sense of the word.

Yeah, DeltAlum, it isn't dangerous. BUT YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT GOES ON??

Some of these guys come from having a "record"... You THINK they SHOULD behave like adult--cuz that's what they are--BUT they do NOT. They stay involved in questionable situations.

Old gang member friends sneak up on them and exhort from them demanding the VIP card access. There is jealousy and anger because someone is envious of one's success... Family members start to act crazy because a lot of money is being exchanged...

And these kinds of situations tend to precipitate fast... It's like one has to say to these players to stay away from the "appearance of evil"... And young people have that naievete [sp?] of that "wait and see" attitude. Life experiences dictates leaving... Hey, the dress code and the music type would tell me immediately what kind of party it would be--no coat check, guys in orange mink hats and coats with too much jewelry and scantily claded women with no coats... No, that would NOT be a place I would frequent...

Besides, I no longer do dive bars... My judgement call is if they don't know what a "cosmo" is, then hey I can leave... But that's my defense mechanism.

[jon1856]

Originally Posted by AKA_Monet

Yeah, DeltAlum, it isn't dangerous. BUT YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT GOES ON??

Some of these guys come from having a "record"... You THINK they SHOULD behave like adult--cuz that's what they are--BUT they do NOT. They stay involved in questionable situations.

Old gang member friends sneak up on them and exhort from them demanding the VIP card access. There is jealousy and anger because someone is envious of one's success... Family members start to act crazy because a lot of money is being exchanged...

And these kinds of situations tend to precipitate fast... It's like one has to say to these players to stay away from the "appearance of evil"... And young people have that naiveté [sp?] of that "wait and see" attitude. Life experiences dictates leaving... Hey, the dress code and the music type would tell me immediately what kind of party it would be--no coat check, guys in orange mink hats and coats with too much jewelry and scantily clad ed women with no coats... No, that would NOT be a place I would frequent...

Besides, I no longer do dive bars... My judgment call is if they don't know what a "cosmo" is, then hey I can leave... But that's my defense mechanism.

AKA-interesting posting which may in part(s) be correct.
BUT at this time we do not know just what was going on prior to, during, or even after the group left the bar/club.
The police have just started their investigations. So they most likely are still sorting matters out. So they do not yet know.
Unless of course you do.

All I have read so far is a group of friends getting together, after work, to socialize and have a fun evening out.
Something we have all done.
However, in the case, higher profile people. But everyone gets the opportunity to go out in public. Walk down the streets in NYC,LA or even Seattle and you will bump into someone along the way; that has happened to me several times including one actual bump.

So how about keeping what ifs to the minimum until we hear or see more?
Let CSI: Denver do its' thing. And lets not leave out Denver mass media doing it's work as well.

[DeltAlum]

Originally Posted by AKA_Monet

Some of these guys come from having a "record"... You THINK they SHOULD behave like adult--cuz that's what they are--BUT they do NOT.

I certainly don't disagree, Monet.

During a long career of televising sports, I've met a lot of athletes on every level. Some are remarkably bright -- some are dumber than a rock. Some act their age, some are still kids. Some are pillars of the community, some are thugs.

I didn't know Darrent Williams.

In the aftermath of a tragedy like this one, you hear all kinds of comments and stories. The concensus seems to be that this was a man who had a very rough childhood, but who had turned his life around. He was apparantely very highly thought of as a player and a person by the members of his team and the Bronco staff. His coaches from high school and Oklahoma State say that he had turned into a great young man with a potentially outstanding future. Bronco coach Mike Shanahan said, ""We all know that Darrent was an excellent player, but as a person, he was a first-class young man who brightened every room with his smile, attitude and personality," Shanahan said. "I cannot express how heartsick I feel at this loss."


The word in some places is that the shooter probably followed the limo and made a deliberate attack. Both the suspect vehicle and the stretch limo had tinted glass, so it's hard to know if Williams was the target -- or the entire group. It will be interesting to see if the shooter and Williams have any history, or if this was a spur of the moment crime growing out of the alleged argument at the club. My gut feeling is the later -- but I have no information to prove it and could be totally off base. It's just a kind of "between the lines" feeling I have.

There was some sad footage of Bronco Javon Walker ariving at Bronco Headquarters today with blood on his shirt and pants. He was in the limo, and reports are that Williams collapsed into Walker's lap after being hit in the neck.

Another man (there were reportedly twelve people in the Hummer) who was hit in the limo was released from the hospital. The woman who was also injured was reportedly hit in the head, but her injuries don't appear life threatening.

As Jon correctly points out, we don't have a whole lot of information yet and the investigation is in its very early stages.

The only thing that is absolutely for sure is that a promising young athlete has been killed long before his time.