Houston police have received 50 complaints for excessive Taser force in the last year, including some for use against children. You heard it here first: some high-profile athlete is going to die or be seriously injured by a Taser round within the next 18 months. And hell is going to break loose.
Yo, Adrian
Here’s a new one: former and perhaps future football-crime prodigy Adrian McPherson has sued the New Orleans Saints, claiming the Saints’ mascot ruined his career after it drove a golf cart into McPherson’s knee during summer training camp.
McPherson was once the can’t-miss-criminal superstar of college football, not only quarterbacking the legendary Florida State CrimiNoles back in their warrant-laden heyday, but racking up an impressive arrest record that included stealing blank checks, improperly using the credit card of his equipment manager’s girlfriend, petty theft, and illegal gambling. In a kind of college-football-criminal Möbius strip, McPherson was once busted for stealing a Peter Warrick game jersey — Warrick being the FSU wide receiver who brought shame to his university when he was caught on foot from behind by a female police officer.
Anyway, McPherson eventually went straight and tried both Arena football and the NFL. He was cut by the Saints this summer, following the mascot incident, and is now seeking damages to compensate him for his lost career. Of course, his arrest record does not come into play here at all.
This is the second controversial mascot incident this year. Red Sox fans may recall that their own Reedy Rip’It, the highly annoying froggish mascot of the Sox’ Greenville Drive single-A team, was arrested for sexual misconduct.
When he’s not googling “flat-top criminals” and “wayward mascots,” Matt Taibbi writes for Rolling Stone. He can be reached atM_Taibbi@yahoo.com
