12/03/24
May 23, 2007
Elijah Dukes, future MVP of the Florida Correctional League: Dukes falls short of Rae Carruth in the Stupid Athletes Hall of Fame, but he's well on his way to earning a spot before his career is over - which could be any day now.
posted by Cameron Frye to baseball at 03:12 PM - 28 comments
SO I shoulda oughta posted the original link: http://www.sptimes.com/2007/05/23/Tampabay/Ballplayer_s_wife__He.shtml My apologies.
posted by Cameron Frye at 03:58 PM on May 23, 2007
Elijah Dukes Delmon Young Josh Hamilton Toe Nash The Tampa Bay Devil Rays scouts sure know how to find those talented, but problematic, prospects.
posted by grum@work at 04:08 PM on May 23, 2007
A small piece of friendly advice to Mr. Dukes: Buy your wife an umpire's outfit for Halloween and then send Delmon over to your house for a little trick-or-treating fun. Problem solved.
posted by Cameron Frye at 04:16 PM on May 23, 2007
This thread is not going to end well, just a prediction.
posted by tommybiden at 04:42 PM on May 23, 2007
A small piece of friendly advice to Mr. Dukes: Buy your wife an umpire's outfit for Halloween and then send Delmon over to your house for a little trick-or-treating fun. Problem solved. That's not funny.
posted by rocketman at 04:46 PM on May 23, 2007
Actually that is kinda funny, but the story sure as hell isn't. I'm about fed up with todays athletes acting like punks.Every day,it seems,some pro or collegiate jock acts like a thug.
posted by sickleguy at 04:53 PM on May 23, 2007
When did it become alright to mess with women? I was taught from the time that I was 2 years old that Men do not mess with Women, period end of story. Just another byproduct of the broken home...
posted by yay-yo at 04:55 PM on May 23, 2007
"That's not funny" Keep reading Rocketman and you will end up amazed and sickened by what passes for humor these days. I do not know whether we are going through a phase or whether the state of society has lowered, but the trend that I see as I read newspapers, news magazines and articles on the Net is getting worse.
posted by Cave_Man at 04:59 PM on May 23, 2007
I have a couple problems with this one. First, in a transcript of an alleged phone message, how can you have the word spelled "dawg". I know that it's a frequently used colloquialism (sp?), but it doesn't lend this story much credence. Secondly, are the children being threatened in the alleged message Elijah Dukes'? I mean, it's low to threaten kids in any respect, but how could you bring yourself to threaten your own children? If you are a grown person and you threaten any child you should be locked up automatically.
posted by THX-1138 at 05:05 PM on May 23, 2007
This thread is not going to end well, just a prediction. I'll second that!
posted by jojomfd1 at 05:06 PM on May 23, 2007
It's the systems fault as much as it is the athletes. All schools not just colleges need to stop wiping these guys asses just because they're athletes. They spend so much time being told how great they are, they start to believe they're invincible. How can anyone not expect these guys to act like this when they get passing grades in college and never show up for a class They're being brainwashed into thinking someone is always going to be there to cover for them. The way to stop it is make the sports or college team legally responsible for their players actions. Just the same as if I give someone a drink at my house, then they go out and kill someone in an accident, I'm responsible and could be sued and lose everything I have. Put the owners and colleges in the same position with all they're players. If nothing else, it's would make them think twice before they sign one of these social cockroaches. Lastly, if all these guys end up in jail where they belong, there could be a pretty great incarceration league. Then, I might actually be able to afford to bring my family to a game. I think Burt Reynolds is available to coach.
posted by MGDADDYO at 05:24 PM on May 23, 2007
Does he happen to have an off season job with the cinncinatti bengals!
posted by brownindian at 05:36 PM on May 23, 2007
Spot on, THX. Threatening a woman, especially your wife, is awful. But threatening kids is just sub-human, whether they're his kids or not (it sounds like they aren't). If the story has the facts straight, this loser needs to be put away. MGDADDYO, I have to disagree. A thug is a thug, as they say. The streets are full of gang members who've never been coddled and catered to, but have the same mentality nonetheless. Conversely, plenty of athletes who go through "the system" turn out quite respectable. I think you're describing the effect, not the cause. The thugs screw up, because that's what they do, and they'd do the same stuff whether they were playing baseball in college or selling crack in Compton. The "untouchable" status as an athlete might further ingrain this attitude, but the prisons full of career criminals tell me that you don't need to be an athlete to think you're above the law and society.
posted by cybermac at 03:18 AM on May 24, 2007
This guy is not a case of society/sports gone wrong. This guy appears to be an asshole. Also - not a particularly smart one. Threatening phone calls is one thing, but threatening messages? That's called a recording, Elijah. It saves your threat. Oh, and yes, it's admissible. C'mon guys, keep your thinly veiled racist meanderings a little quieter. Brett Maine punches his wife out and I don't recall the reaction being that he's a thug and it's thug culture or some other nonsense.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 08:10 AM on May 24, 2007
It doesn't even matter if it is admissible since the missus didn't file a criminal complaint against him. It's worth considering that this is just a strategic move in a messy divorce.
posted by bperk at 08:32 AM on May 24, 2007
My ex sent me a picture of a clown making balloon animals, should I be scared? Oh yeah, and brownindian, you really should learn how to spell the name of the city across the state from you. It's CINCINNATI, second most populous city in Ohio, the one where bodies of water are never seen abaze. Good joke, though.
posted by tahoemoj at 01:09 PM on May 24, 2007
It's not about race, Weedy. It's about someone who is having problems with their spouse using threats of violence against children as a manipulation tool. That's terrorism and a gangster mentality.
posted by cybermac at 02:17 PM on May 24, 2007
That's terrorism and a gangster mentality. But would the word "gangster" even be in this thread if the guy was white?
posted by The Crafty Sousepaw at 02:21 PM on May 24, 2007
Actually, tahoe, it looks to be a distant 3rd in population. But, not nit-picking you - your comment just made me curious. In fact, as both a Reds and Browns fan (yes, and I'm partial toward canker sores and pink-eye, too), I could only shake my head at brownindian's "joke". At first, I thought Weedy's race-related comment might be out of place. But, on further reflection, not really. He's not saying "lay off the guy" - but think about the application of what you're saying. If you don't think that "thug" and "gangster" don't carry racial connotations - well, I think you're wrong. So, if thug/gangster comments were replaced with "a fool is a fool", then we wouldn't be having this discussion. With the rash of stories like this that have been getting airtime on this site, I don't think it's "too PC" to ask this of folks. On preview - what Crafty said. Here's hoping that Dukes and others get help for these nauseating actions.
posted by littleLebowski at 02:33 PM on May 24, 2007
I didn't mean gangster as in a street gang member. I meant gangster as in someone who uses fear and intimidation to get what they want.
posted by cybermac at 02:34 PM on May 24, 2007
I didn't mean gangster as in a street gang member. I meant gangster as in someone who uses fear and intimidation to get what they want. Wha-wha-what? A thug is a thug, as they say. The streets are full of gang members who've never been coddled and catered to, but have the same mentality nonetheless. posted by cybermac at 3:18 AM CDT on May 24 Without the contradiction, I might be able to otherwise see your logic, cyber - but even then, in this kind of setting, it's akin to saying "no, when I say 'gay', I mean the old-time definition of 'merry'."
posted by littleLebowski at 02:41 PM on May 24, 2007
Cybermac, only you can say definitively if the word "gangster" would have flowed so easily from your keyboard if we were talking about Brett Myers, but in a community that maybe isn't familiar with your personal broad definitions of words it's best for your own sake and that of the community that you recognize which ones are racially charged by nature and put those away. Advice to be taken or left as you will. On edit: what The Dude said
posted by The Crafty Sousepaw at 02:42 PM on May 24, 2007
Cybermac, only you can say definitively if the word "gangster" would have flowed so easily from your keyboard if we were talking about Brett Myers, but in a community that maybe isn't familiar with your personal broad definitions of words it's best for your own sake and that of the community that you recognize which ones are racially charged by nature and put those away. Advice to be taken or left as you will. I see your point. Sorry for the misunderstanding (and derailing the thread). Honestly, I didn't think of the words I used as racially charged. I think of gangs in criminal terms, not racial ones. Whatever his race, Dukes' words to his wife sounded like the kind of vicious disrespect for human life that I associate with gang violence, having been around it quite a bit in my youth.
posted by cybermac at 03:39 PM on May 24, 2007
How's about "Dukes is a level 1 asshat that needs to be thrown in the pokey" Or they could just let him keep playing for the Rays. Ok, not funny.
posted by THX-1138 at 03:48 PM on May 24, 2007
I thought the asshat part was pretty funny, that's such a funny word.
posted by BornIcon at 03:59 PM on May 24, 2007
it looks to be a distant 3rd in population I believe that's downtown area. When it comes to the greater metropolis, the last I knew (which was 15 years ago, I admit) the greater Cleveland area was around 3 million, greater Cincy and Columbus both near 1.5 million. That, for Cincinnati, includes northern Kentucky and parts of eastern Indiana. Cincinnati's downtown is relatively small compared to it's outlaying population. And yeah, asshat is a funny word.
posted by tahoemoj at 04:20 PM on May 24, 2007
I know. I think it's Weedy's.
posted by THX-1138 at 04:20 PM on May 24, 2007
I don't think that an MSNBC story reporting on a story published in the St. Pete Times coupled with a biased description is really going to pass muster.