Jerome Bettis: I sold crack, shot at people in Detroit

[Prime Time]

http://www.freep.com/story/sports/nfl/2015/07/23/jerome-bettis-detroit/30566969/

Jerome Bettis: I sold crack, shot at people in Detroit
James Jahnke, Detroit Free Press

Running back Jerome Bettis, one of the members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2015, speaks after the group was introduced Jan. 31, 2015, in Tempe, Ariz.(Photo: Mark Humphrey Associated Press)


Jerome Bettis is going into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in a couple of weeks, so he's making the promotional rounds.

In an upcoming episode of "In Depth with Graham Bensinger," a syndicated sports show, Bettis talks about his rough youth in Detroit, among other topics.

Asked about selling crack with his brother, Bettis said: "The mind-set was, 'We're in the hood. Mom and Dad, they're working their butts off. There's no money around. We need to make some money.' So we said, 'You know what? Let's give it a shot.' And it was one of those moments that you regret, but at the moment, that was the only thing that was really available to us."

Bensinger later asked whether Bettis ever shot at somebody.

Bettis: "Yeah. That was part of growing up in our environment, in our neighborhood. That wasn't out of the realm of normal. When you go back, it's nothing that I ever wanted to glorify, because I know in retrospect that it was awful. Here you are in a position to take someone's life, and that's never a good thing.

And so as I look back on it now, I always see the wrongs that are in it and never want to bring light to it in that respect: that it was a good thing. It was the worst thing that I could've ever done. It was a bad decision, but it was the decision that I made and that I lived with at that moment."

There's much more about Bettis' childhood in Detroit in the interview, which you can watch in full here.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...d-crack-shot-at-people-growing-up-in-detroit/

Bettis has clearly overcome the mistakes of his youth, as he heads into the Hall of Fame after a brilliant career. But as impressive as anything he did running the ball was the fact he could escape that setting, overcome the challenges and become the kind of man he is today.

 

[fearsomefour]

I was hoping this was during the week before the Superbowl

 

[-X-]

'You know what? Let's give it a shot.' And it was one of those moments that you regret, but at the moment, that was the only thing that was really available to us."

Yeahhhhh.

Bullshit.

 

[fearsomefour]

Yeahhhhh.

bullcrap.

Im sure not the only thing....perhaps he means the easiest.

 

[badnews]

There are only 3 ways to escape the hood:
The rap game.
Playing ball.
Selling crack.

That's it. No other options.
/end sarcasm

I remember watching a documentary or something where a parent was interviewed about their child's chance for success. The parent said "my boy ain't never getting out of the hood. He ain't good enough at sports and he won't be a famous rapper". The parent was honestly convinced that those were the only 2 options....

Very sad.

 

[-X-]

Im sure not the only thing....perhaps he means the easiest.

Definitely the easiest.

Certainly not the only.

 

[HE WITH HORNS]

Legalize all drugs, then these scum bags won't be drawn into that lifestyle, because there won't be any money to be made at it.

 

[dbrooks25]

To most of these kids living in the hood, there really isn't another option. I grew up middle class with both parents, but growing up in the St. Louis area, I was exposed to these kind of people. Sure, there are clearly other options, but the thing is they don't have much of a support group to tell them this. Dad's not around at all and Mom is working double OT just to make ends meet. Some are lucky to have dads or mentors to show them the way, however.

 

[jrry32]

Definitely the easiest.

Certainly not the only.

Let's not judge people from our high horse because of their ignorance due to their circumstances.

 

[-X-]

Let's not judge people from our high horse because of their ignorance due to their circumstances.

I'm not judging anyone. I simply said it's a bullshit statement.

 

[jrry32]

I'm not judging anyone. I simply said it's a bullcrap statement.

How do you know? What else was available to them?

 

[Prime Time]

How do you know? What else was available to them?

I worked my way through 3 years of college at a Jack-in-the-Box. Full load in school and full-time at work. Don't know whether those opportunities were there for Jerome Bettis. My parents were poor as dirt and couldn't afford to help me. I too sold drugs but it was to pay for the ones I was using to get me through that time in my life. No excuses, no judgment. I can totally relate to the man's experiences.

The main reason I posted this article is that a) Jerome Bettis is an ex-Ram who is in the Hall of Fame. b) He overcame his past and is owning up to it. c) It's something to learn from and celebrate because he made something really good out of his life. The last paragraph of the OP sums it up.

"Bettis has clearly overcome the mistakes of his youth, as he heads into the Hall of Fame after a brilliant career. But as impressive as anything he did running the ball was the fact he could escape that setting, overcome the challenges and become the kind of man he is today."

 

[-X-]

How do you know? What else was available to them?

Are you honestly going to sit there and say that selling drugs was the ONLY thing he and his brother could do when his parents were working and there was no money available to him?

Hokay then.

 

[jrry32]

Are you honestly going to sit there and say that selling drugs was the ONLY thing he and his brother could do when his parents were working and there was no money available to him?

Hokay then.

No. Because I don't know. I didn't live in his neighborhood and I didn't live his life. So I'll reserve judgement. The better question is, how do you know it wasn't? How old was he when this was going on?

 

[-X-]

No. Because I don't know. I didn't live in his neighborhood and I didn't live his life. So I'll reserve judgement. The better question is, how do you know it wasn't? How old was he when this was going on?

Well clearly I don't know what his life was like. That's not the point at all. All I'm saying is (again), if his parents were working, and there was no money available to *him*, that selling drugs wasn't the only thing he could do. I don't have to know him or his situation to say that and be accurate about the sentiment. Either do without and not shame your parents/yourself, or try significantly harder to find another means of disposable income. I mean, he himself said it was a mistake. Wouldn't that signify that he didn't have to do it because he now regrets it?

At any rate, it's cool how he overcame the situation and didn't become just another statistic.

 

[HometownBoy]

None of us really known what happened in his shoes or in his position. We can sit and argue all we want, but most of us are suburban, middle class people who had the social standing and positioning to say that drugs weren't the only way or that he took the easy way and turn our nose up to the situation.

 

[-X-]

None of us really known what happened in his shoes or in his position. We can sit and argue all we want, but most of us are suburban, middle class people who had the social standing and positioning to say that drugs weren't the only way or that he took the easy way and turn our nose up to the situation.

Not necessarily. I grew up in a pretty poor neighborhood as a kid and had an abusive father. I feel like I'm maybe a little qualified to speak on this subject without being elitist about it. I also had a best friend and teammate in high school who had it significantly worse. His answer to the situation was to ride his bike 10 miles 4-5 times a week to wash dishes in order to make the money to buy the things he needed or wanted. It was mostly to get out of his house, but the bottom line is, he didn't take the easy route or cop-out by saying he had no other choice but to deal.

 

[HometownBoy]

Not necessarily. I grew up in a pretty poor neighborhood as a kid and had an abusive father. I feel like I'm maybe a little qualified to speak on this subject without being elitist about it. I also had a best friend and teammate in high school who had it significantly worse. His answer to the situation was to ride his bike 10 miles 4-5 times a week to wash dishes in order to make the money to buy the things he needed or wanted. It was mostly to get out of his house, but the bottom line is, he didn't take the easy route or cop-out by saying he had no other choice but to deal.

That's acknowledging that the opportunity is there, lots of different scenarios go into making a poverty stricken area a poverty stricken area. No two area is created the same.

Detroit isn't known for it's economy nor it's safety. Biking 10 miles to get a job that might not exist might not have been a feasible in his area especially considering that Detroit even still today has a 10.2% unemployment rate, higher than the average of the rest of the US. Definitely wouldn't be safe in a place that is still ranked 7th in murder capitals in the US, and that was once known as the most dangerous city in the US. Detroit is more like a quarantine area than a neighborhood, it's remarkably isolated to itself. The closest city of merit to Detroit is Flint, 66 miles away.

You simply can't judge every situation on the same basis as another simply because they have similarities, because the differences could be astronomical. Sometimes just saying there are other options just isn't enough.

Because sometimes there really wasn't much else.

 

[-X-]

That's acknowledging that the opportunity is there, lots of different scenarios go into making a poverty stricken area a poverty stricken area. No two area is created the same.

Detroit isn't known for it's economy nor it's safety. Biking 10 miles to get a job that might not exist might not have been a feasible in his area especially considering that Detroit even still today has a 10.2% unemployment rate, higher than the average of the rest of the US. Definitely wouldn't be safe in a place that is still ranked 7th in murder capitals in the US, and that was once known as the most dangerous city in the US. Detroit is more like a quarantine area than a neighborhood, it's remarkably isolated to itself. The closest city of merit to Detroit is Flint, 66 miles away.

You simply can't judge every situation on the same basis as another simply because they have similarities, because the differences could be astronomical. Sometimes just saying there are other options just isn't enough.

Because sometimes there really wasn't much else.

Yeah, I get all that. And again, I'm not judging anyone. But if there were no other options, then EVERY kid growing up with working parents in his neighborhood would be drug dealers. Every. Single. One. Of. Them. Since that's clearly not the case, then there were other avenues for him to explore in order to make money that he really didn't need for his own survival. Because as he stated, his parents were busting their asses, but there was nothing left for *him*. So *he* needed to make some money for himself. Was dealing the only thing he could do? Hardly.

I'm gonna go ahead and say that judging his situation in such a way that (by default) puts him in a hopeless environment while he's living with parents who were busting their ass to support him, is just as bad as saying I'm judging him for saying he had no other options than to break the law and potentially kill other teenagers or children by dealing them poison.

 

[fancents86]

Most of these kids get started around 14-15 yrs of age, too young to get a real job. Then when they are old enough they have to make a choice, get a minimum wage job or make 5x as much in a week than they'd make a month at an entry level job. Not only that but the "thug life" mentality as already taken hold of them. Totally different mindset when you grow up in an area like that.