State of...Heroics

It's become almost a regular occurrence to read about some NFL goon getting caught with possession of drugs, or weapon charges, or attempted murder. So it's refreshing to hear about the good sports stories. Yesterday's Edmonton Sun had a great story that made me stand up and cheer.

Kitwana Jones is his name. For those of you who don't follow the CFL (and trust me, that's just about everyone), Kitwana is a defensive end for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. At 6'0, 240 pounds he is a somewhat imposing specimen (albeit nothing to compared to some of the NFL giants that roam the gridiron), but on the field he is just another averaged size athlete. Running down a would-be purse snatcher is a different story altogether.

While driving around town Kitwana heard a lady screaming. He slowed down the vehicle and was able to make out the cry "Help, Help". An older woman had just had her purse and laptop stolen by a petty thief. Kitwana took off like a sprinter and chased the man down "in seconds" and tackled him. He held him down, and maybe threw a few kicks in for good measure, and waited for the cops to arrive. While he waited he angrily asked "Why are you out here trying to beat up old women?". I don't know what response he got, but...

Can you imagine this man tackling you on the hard concrete?

I wonder how many of us, let alone star athletes, would do what KJ did. Literally he put him self in harms way for a complete stranger. Can you see T.O. stopping his tricked out Escalade (just a guess) to help an old lady? HA HA. Not in a million years. I'm not picking on T.O. in particular (okay, maybe just a bit)...I'm not sure that even I would do such a thing. The guy could be carrying a gun, knife, or whatever. I'd certainly call the cops...but would I get out of my car and run down the guy? Most likely....hells no.

When asked about his act of courage he said: “I’d put myself at risk for anybody, any day. I don’t have much fear for anything except God.” Kudos to you Kitwana! My hat goes off to you. You've done the Eskimos proud.

I might actually tune in the the next CFL game on TV (I think they air at 4 am on Tuesday mornings here).

Cheers,

LW