A piece about the man... a decent read
Krieger: Broncos' Brandon Marshall much deeper than any caricature - The Denver Post
Krieger: Broncos' Brandon Marshall much deeper than any caricature
By Dave Krieger
The Denver Post
Posted: 03/14/2010 01:00:00 AM MST
Brandon Marshall (Denver Post file photo)It has been so easy, turning Brandon Marshall into a caricature. Bad guy. Bad teammate. Hothead. Diva.
And worse, sorta kinda responsible for teammate Darrent Williams' death. After all, he admitted escalating the nightclub confrontation with east Denver gang members that preceded the drive-by shooting of Williams' limousine. That's well known.
If you listened to all the testimony in the Williams murder trial, you know it's also simplistic. In addition to the role Marshall and his cousin played in the back-and-forth that night, there was also a recurring territorial dispute between the Denver Crips and Williams' friends, an aspiring rap group from Fort Worth, Texas.
Did Willie Clark pursue Williams' 40-foot white Hummer limousine rather than Marshall's standard Lincoln limo because of the territorial dispute? Because it was more ostentatious, more "disrespectful" to the hometown crew? Because it was the last to leave?
With Clark proclaiming his innocence after the conviction, we may never know. But the conclusion that Marshall's part in the nightclub altercation provided the primary motive for the shooting is not supported by the testimony.
Still, Marshall clearly had a role. By his own admission, he's haunted by it. That's less well known, so let's try to flesh out the caricature a bit.
The admission came early in his court testimony, when prosecutor Tim Twining directed his attention to that night by asking if he remembered it.
"I think about it every night," Marshall said.
In an era when few pro athletes are willing to sacrifice street cred by taking a stand against gangs, Marshall spent much of the 2008 NFL season donating one afternoon a week to Open Door Youth Gang Alternatives, the Rev. Leon Kelly's gang prevention program in northeast Denver.
Here is some of what he told the older kids, mostly middle school students, on his first visit, in June 2008:
"If you Google my name, you'll see a lot of negative things because I've made mistakes. 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 have a younger sister, she has three kids now. She's 21. She had her first kid when she was 15. So my life isn't perfect. My family isn't perfect. I have family members who's locked up, family members on drugs. Our family isn't perfect. We've bumped our heads before.
"You have a chance to do some spectacular things in your life. What I'm saying is, take this time while you're young and become something. Make something of yourself.
"I don't want to live like my mom and my 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. I been through it. 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.
"What you guys need to do is really focus and get y'all grades and make something of y'all self. Don't run with the wrong crowd."
Near the end of this visit, Kelly asked Marshall to talk to the kids about the lessons of his teammate's murder.
"It just opens your eyes to finally realize that no matter how good you're doing or if you're doing positive things, there's so much that can be taken away from you like that. You never know. He never knew what hit him. He never knew what was going on. It's sad to say that.
"You guys just got to know that everyone in the world's not great. Everyone in the world is not trying to do good. So you've got to put yourself in good environments and good positions where you can't be hurt. Protect your feelings and protect yourself and always keep your eyes open. We lost a teammate, a friend, a father, so much. And it hurts."
Maybe it would be better for all concerned if Marshall got a fresh start elsewhere. That's the Broncos' call now.
But he is not a caricature. He is a bright, emotional, conflicted, accomplished athlete. And he has tried, through engagement with Open Door and his trial testimony, to compensate for whatever role he played in that tragedy more than three years ago.
