The Troublesome Antonio Cromartie

If The Mo'Kelly Report has been anything over the years, it has been both consistent and fair. For every story Mo'Kelly has written in derision of a John Mayer, Michael Richards or even Dog the Bounty Hunter, you will also find one equally critical of Gilbert Arenas/Plaxico Burress, the Duke Lacrosse accuser and Nas the rapper.

No one has ever received a pass on the issues of race here, irrespective of their race. When heaping praise and critique, there is no double-standard now and there won't be in the future in this column.

Right is right and wrong is wrong.

Unfortunately, the reality is that we do not live in a post-racial society, despite the fact that Barack Obama lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. We do live in a post-legislated racism (i.e. post Jim Crow) society, but the issues of race persist.

Black farmers were recently awarded 1.25 billion (with a "b") in a civil discrimination suit. That is not a figment of my imagination. The FBI is presently investigating the police beating of Pittsburgh teenage violinist Jordan Miles in January of this year. If that weren't enough, the organization 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement called on NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to investigate racial profiling after "stop and frisk" statistics went through the roof ... reflecting the disproportionate detainment of Blacks and Latinos.

Post-racial society? Hardly.

But speaking of racial profiling, it's the perfect entry point into the discussion of the newest member of the New York Jets, Antonio Cromartie ... the troublesome Antonio Cromartie. Cromartie came to the Jets by way of a trade with the San Diego Chargers. Yes, that would be the same San Diego, home to the "Compton Cookout" controversy on the campus of UCSD. Yes, that would be the same "Compton Cookout" where "educated" college students took to ridiculing the worst of Black stereotypes in "celebration" of Black History Month.

I know what some are you thing..."where is he going with this?"

Here's where...

In 2006, defensive back Antonio Cromartie signed a 5-year $12 million contract with the San Diego Chargers , $7.35 million of which was guaranteed.

This week, the New York Jets had to ADVANCE Cromartie $500,000 to enable him to address his "paternity issues."

Yes, "paternity issues."

Cromartie at age 25 has 7 children, by 6 different women across 5 states and is behind on child support by at least $25,000. All of the children are age 6 or younger. According to court records Cromartie has failed to appear in court on two different occasions regarding moving violations and his driver license status is in doubt. Specifically, he tried to get a California license in 2006 (to replace his Florida one) but could not pass the written portion of the test then and has not since.

But wait, there's more...

Cromartie has been named in "at least" five paternity suits in the past three years alone, meaning the official tally of how many kids are his is legally still in doubt and may rise considerably.

Yes, "at least" five. Could be six, could be eight, who knows? But "at least" five.

Antonio Cromartie is 25, broke and the embodiment of many of the worst that Black stereotypes have to offer.

The question today is whether we as African-Americans should be more upset at the racist stereotypes being "celebrated" at a college frat party or at the behavior of those like Antonio Cromartie which feed into them? This is not an either-or postulation, there's room to be mightily offended by both.

Let's remember, social capital is a finite resource and how we spend it on the issues of race invariably matters. There's room to attack both of these issues simultaneously, but I take particular exception to individuals like Antonio Cromartie.

Some 12 million Cromartie dollars later, we have at least 7 more children of color with neither an emotionally available father nor the financial support system in which to raise them. That is shameful.

The "Compton Cookout" was hideously offensive to be sure ... but this pains Mo'Kelly far worse.

Far, far worse.

Wide receiver and father Plaxico Burress ... jail (Home recently foreclosed) Star guard and unwed father (2 children) Gilbert Arenas ... on his way to jail. Rapper Lil Wayne, unwed father of 4 children (two born simultaneously to different women) ... just finished tucking himself in ... you got it, prison. Black male pathology is in full swing. It's not funny and it's not a figment of one's imagination. It's true and we should recognize it for what it is.

It is unacceptable, that's what it is. There will be no "partridge in a pear tree jokes" today.

As sorry of an individual Antonio Cromartie must be to father (at least) 7 children with 6 women across 5 states, how much blame should fall at the feet of our community who neither puts a stop to individuals such as him nor condemns the behavior with the same veracity we condemned the "Compton Cookout?"

Mo'Kelly doesn't want to see African-Americans mocked on college campuses or having nooses dangled in derision. At the same time, Mo'Kelly especially doesn't want to see the likes of Antonio Cromartie breathe life into the worst of those same Black male stereotypes.

I don't want to hear any excuses and I definitely don't want any "explanations" as to why Cromartie gets a pass (no football pun intended) and Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity doesn't.

Neither should.

To have seven children (likely more, pending paternity suit results) with 6 women across 5 states by age 25 isn't funny, isn't acceptable or explainable in any way. For all the protests and outrage (rightfully) directed at UC San Diego and Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, some should have been directed at Cromartie too. I mean, it's the same damn city.

The troublesome Antonio Cromartie...

Both have measurable and deleterious effects and must be addressed if we as a society are ever to overcome the issue of race. We in the African-American community must approach the Antonio Cromarties of the world with the same righteous indignation we do a "Compton Cookout." Otherwise, in the not-so-distant future we will have bankrupted our social capital account and impugned our moral authority once and for all.

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Morris W. O'Kelly (Mo'Kelly) is author of the syndicated entertainment and socio-political column The Mo'Kelly Report. For more Mo'Kelly, http://mokellyreport.wordpress.com. Mo'Kelly can be reached at [e-mail] and he welcomes all commentary.

 

Follow Morris W. O'Kelly on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mrmokelly

Comments

[Morris W. O'Kelly]

08:52 AM on 03/11/2010

Actually, my birth certificat­e and their marriage license probably supersedes anything my mother "told" me. And the list says "rumored to have" is that number may be MORE. The initial numbers aren't in doubt. Keep trying...y­ou'll eventually make a decent argument. But it comes with well-const­ructed arguments. You're not there yet.

Might I direct you to the hall of records?

And illegitima­te children isn't an indictment of the children. It's an indictment of the parents such as Cromartie who have 7 with 6 different women across 5 states. That's a FACT you convenient­ly fail to address. You're still hung up on "illegitim­ate" not the fact that there are SEVEN (maybe more...no "rumor").

Stay with me. Focus. Do better.

[Iehi Aour]

01:25 PM on 03/11/2010

Let me make it simple for you. When you use the term "illegitim­ate children" you are attacking children, not their parents. The term is old, and has been used, specifical­ly, by racists in attacks on the existence of those children. I cannot even fathom what your need is to attack any of these people. They do not represent in any form, by extrapolat­ion or symbol, anything but themselves­. If you are so inclined, you can find these people in all walks of life, in all social strata, and certainly across the races. Their behavior is indeed unfortunat­e, but it isn't as if this society at large has any regard for those children.

Far more significan­t is the future of those children in a society that will almost gleefully deny them education and health care to say the least. A society that closes hospitals and schools first is a far greater issue than the behavior of a few footballer­s. Your insistence that the community carry the weight for their behavior is absurd. Do you see white America carrying any of these elected fools whose behavior is beyond the pale?

Labeling children illegitima­te is sophistry at its worst. It has been done often enough to Black children that one who claims to be attacking the parents ought to know better about.

It remains bad form to begin a sentence with "and". I don't care how angry you claim to be.

[Morris W. O'Kelly]

03:23 PM on 03/11/2010

One, I'm not angry. AND two, if you'd like to pass out grammar lessons...­we can go all day. Pulling out your dictionary and flipping pages until you hit "sophistry­" doesn't make your argument any more compelling­.

"Illegitim­ate" is not a value judgment. It is a definition­. It is not a characteri­zation and it is not an opinion.

It is a statement of fact. AND, if you can't get over that...tha­t's a "you" problem. "Illegitim­ate" is far more appropriat­e to put in the sentence than "children of unwed parents." One word sufficed.

AND no, I don't take my cues from White America...­so any comparison to White America as to how I should respect, protect or correct my own Black community is flawed and misguided on its best day.

AND, I'm not sure why you continue to address the nomenclatu­re of the children chosen by the writer, yet ignore the behavior of the subject in the piece.

(Actually I am sure...you have issues, irrespecti­ve of how much denial you put on display.)

[soulportrait]

09:50 PM on 03/10/2010

I'm much more offended by the behavior that fuels stereotype­s.

[damilitantone]

05:26 PM on 03/10/2010

This is what happens when either father's abdicate their responsibi­lities or are not around to raise their sons. Where is Cromartie'­s father in all of this? Black folks get mad when white folks point out the behaviors of young black males, but if they are engaged in unacceptab­le actions like fathering different children by numerous women, then they deserve the scorn. I am working with my church to try and mentor young black males on how to behave responsibl­y. Cromartie is a microcosm of a systemic problem in the black community and it's time that the black community stop giving these irresponsi­ble athletes, entertaine­rs, brothers on the street, and other trifling young black men a pass. It's not a slur, or racist rhetoric if it's true. I've been around too long to keep looking the other way.

[Morris W. O'Kelly]

07:30 PM on 03/10/2010

Amen. Exactly. You get EXACTLY where I'm coming from...tha­nk you for responding­.

[Morris W. O'Kelly]

05:58 PM on 03/09/2010

To say Cromartie is not a "Black" problem, or more correctly stated an issue for the African-Am­erican community to address is to suggest he's an anomaly.
* Darren McFadden (NFL) 2 illegitima­te kids
* Larry Johnson (NBA) – 5 kids by 4 women; 3 are illegitima­te
* Charles Rogers (NBA)- Reportedly has 5 illegitima­te kids
* Greg Minor (NBA) – 3 illegitima­te kids
* Ricky Williams (NFL) – 3 illegitima­te kids
* Priest Holmes (NFL) – 3 illegitima­te kids
* Karl Malone (NBA) – 3 illegitima­te kids – all born while he was in college; 2 of the 3 are now profession­al athletes
* Elijah Dukes (MLB) – 5 illegitima­te kids by 4 women (possibly 6 kids by 5 women now – the most recent one hasn’t been publicly confirmed)
* Willis McGahee (NFL) – 3 illegitima­te kids in 2 years
* Michael Vick (NFL/) – 3 illegitima­te children
* Ray Lewis (NFL) – Rumored to have 6 children by 4 women
* Marshall Faulk (NFL) – Also rumored to have 6 children, but by 3 women
* Shawn Kemp (NBA) – 7 illegitima­te kids by 6 women
* Derrick Thomas (NFL) – 7 illegitima­te kids by 5 women
* Jason Caffey (NBA) – 8 illegitima­te children by 7 women
* Travis Henry (NFL) – 9 kids by 9 women by age 28
* Willie Anderson (NBA) – 9 illegitima­te kids
* Evander Holyfield (Boxing) – 9 illegitima­te kids

[Iehi Aour]

10:34 PM on 03/09/2010

No such thing as illegitima­te kids. There are poorly parented and poorly fathered kids, but they are legitimate in the way that all things that exist are. As for the Black community, we have problems enough that a handful of sh*t head athletes should be some kind of marker. It is at least fortunate that they have a little bit of money that a diligent other parent can pursue. In the meantime, it might be so that a figure of social, political, and/or scientific import may emerge.

This is an American kind of problem. In large measure it begins with the fact that we pay far too much attention to these nifnods to begin with. Black people simply need to pay attention to different things.

[Morris W. O'Kelly]

02:23 AM on 03/10/2010

Uh...actua­lly there is such a thing. Whether you choose to acknowledg­e the definition of the word as it relates to the marital status of the parents is neither here nor there. If you want to debate semantics, it won't be here. The parents are unmarried and in the cases here, one is largely absent. You can title the children anything you want. Some definition­s include "bastards"­...but a less harsh euphemism is illegitima­te...as in not birthed within a marriage.

So yes, there is such a thing. You mention "Black people" in the third person, so presumably you are NOT Black. That said, I'm wary of any advice as to what we "need" to pay attention to...given that you do not have a vested interest in my community.

[Morris W. O'Kelly]

02:26 AM on 03/10/2010

For you to be hung up on "illegitim­ate" seems to me that I've touched a personal nerve...as in either you or your children.

[Iehi Aour]

05:21 PM on 03/09/2010

I see your reply, Morris O. and I will just say to you this---tha­t was my second sentence if you had read the whole thing.

[Iehi Aour]

04:47 PM on 03/09/2010

Antonio Cromartie is his own problem. He is several women's and a bunch of children's also. He is not a Black problem, he is a Black man with clearly questionab­le judgment. But who is to judge that? We can be hopeful that he will grow up and realize what he is responsibl­e for. In the meantime, let us hope and pray that he is true to his real constituen­ts, the bettors.

[Morris W. O'Kelly]

04:49 PM on 03/09/2010

There are at least 5 pending paternity suits and 7 children who would readily disagree as to Cromartie being his own problem.

[redd35]

09:29 AM on 03/10/2010

mind your damn business is the only thing i can say these men have nothing to do with you and you will not take care of their kids so stop doing the bidding for the racist .