Chiefs bringing in non-rapist

[saphojunkie]

http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/7...on-brian-banks

It's not every day that the Washington Redskins call up a man convicted of rape and ask him if he'd agree to a one-day workout, but it happened Tuesday.

Oh, and the Kansas City Chiefs called Tuesday, too. And the Miami Dolphins. And they were three days behind the Seattle Seahawks, who will work him out on June 7.

Why are all these NFL teams eager to check out a convicted sex offender, a man who served five years in prison and wore a GPS ankle bracelet for another five?

Because Brian Banks didn't do it.

A judge in Long Beach, Calif., threw out his kidnapping and rape conviction last week after looking at a videotape of his accuser admitting she lied. After 10 years, he was suddenly a free and innocent man.

"My mouth hurts from smiling so much," Banks told me Tuesday night. "Unbelievable."

Banks was 16 in 2002, the bluest of blue chips out of Long Beach Poly High School, an NFL feeder if there ever was one. He'd already been offered a full-ride scholarship at USC by then-coach Pete Carroll.

But on a summer day that year, he and a girl named Wanetta Gibson decided to go make out in a stairwell at school. When they came out, she accused him of rape.

No semen traces in the rape kit. No witnesses. And yet Banks' attorney insisted he cop a plea, saying his size, age and race would mean a sure conviction of 40-plus years. He said no, no, a hundred times no and finally, reluctantly, yes.

Banks got six years. He served 62 months.

When he got out, he had to wear a GPS ankle bracelet at all times. He had to register as a convicted sex felon. Couldn't go near schools, parks or zoos. Couldn't get a job. He was lucky to get a few hours a week unloading docks.

What did Gibson get? A $750,000 settlement from the school.

But then, last year, a chunk of luck fell from the stars. Out of the blue, Gibson, then 24, sent Banks a Facebook friend request.

Banks slammed the laptop cover down and jumped out of his chair. Was somebody playing a joke on him?

He looked again. Amazing. Gibson had typed, "Let's let bygones be bygones."

Easy for her to say. She didn't watch 10 years of her life go by.

"She was adamant about meeting me," Banks says. "I asked my brother (Freddy), 'What should I do?' He said, 'Whatever you do, make sure you play chess, not checkers.'"

Banks' first move: To get everything she said on tape. He hired a private investigator and met Gibson in the man's office, where every conversation is secretly videotaped. The tape recorded Gibson saying, clearly, "No, he did not rape me."

Was he nervous she wouldn't say it?

"I didn't have to get her to say anything," Banks said. "She came into the room expressing herself. She even came back the next day. The investigator asked her again, point blank. 'Did Brian rape you?' 'No.' 'Did he kidnap you?' 'No.'"

And why would Gibson meet with Banks in the first place? Was it a trap? Was it guilt? No. Banks thinks Gibson -- are you ready for this? -- was hoping to get back together.

"You read the texts and that's the only conclusion you come to," says a source who worked on the case. "She seems absolutely clue-free about what she did to him."

Getting evidence is one thing, getting your rape conviction flipped is another. Banks called the California Innocence Project in San Diego. They agreed to help. It was the first time they'd taken a case of a man already out of prison.

"As soon as we met him, we had no doubt," says Justin Brooks, the lead attorney. "We could see this was a kid who had a big future ahead of him, one that had been lost."

On Thursday, May 24, in a Long Beach courtroom, Banks got his future back.

What's the first thing he did, besides cry at the courtroom table? Snipped off the stupid ankle bracelet, the scarlet letter of our age. "Oh, man, when that thing came off?" Banks says. "There are no words."

Then he went with Brooks' wife and kids to a place he couldn't have gone the day before -- Sea World.

"It's so crazy to go from being labeled a monster to seeing your phone light up with all this support and offers and love," he said. "It's, really, a little hard to get used to."

And what does Banks want most now? Retribution? Revenge? Gibson's head on a serving platter? No. He's not even demanding Gibson give the money back. While he is suing the state for $100 for each day he was falsely imprisoned, what he wants back most is football.

[+] EnlargeBrian Banks
AP Photo/Nick UtBanks celebrates his exoneration and freedom with his mother, Leomia Myers.
Thanks to the best Tuesday of his life, he's now got a chance at it.

None of the four teams are offering any guarantees for a spot in training camp, nor is Banks asking for any.

"I'll make 'em happy," says Banks, who's been training non-stop since October. "After all I've been through these last 10 years, I can still do some things that will impress you."

Like ... dead-lift 545 pounds, box jump 55 inches flat-footed, broad jump 10-plus feet and run a 4.6 40, all at 6-foot-2 and 245 pounds. NFL trainer Gavin Macmillan, who has volunteered to train Banks for free, says he has a shot. "You see him run and you can see why USC wanted him."

And if the NFL doesn't pan out? Banks already has all kinds of job offers. One of them is to "work in the front office and explore other sports opportunities" for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

"I about fell out of my seat when I read that one," Banks said.

I don't know about you, but I can't remember another story that made me want to alternately punch something and hug something like this one. The way Banks has handled himself, without bitterness or bile, with grace and guts, makes you wish he were running the U.S. Senate. If it were me, I'd be stomping around, waving lawsuits and screaming, "I TOLD you I didn't do it!!!"

"I know my story makes people angry at first," Banks says. "That's where I was, too, at first. But where would it have gotten me to stay mad for 10 years? It's like when you're a little kid and you cry about having to clean your room. You can cry and cry, but it doesn't get your room cleaned."

Brian Banks' room is clean again. His heart is spotless. He's holding on to nothing but his dreams. He lost a full decade of his life and now all he wants in exchange is an NFL jersey.

C'mon, Miami Dolphins. Who's had more "Hard Knocks" than Brian Banks?

[Dave Lane]

Originally Posted by Bump

this kid deserves a 2nd chance, I cant imagine he's going to do anything though.

Hell he needs a first chance.

[InChiefsHeaven]

Originally Posted by suzzer99

Why did he plead no contest? Did he think he was going to get off easier than 6 years?

From the article:

No semen traces in the rape kit. No witnesses. And yet Banks' attorney insisted he cop a plea, saying his size, age and race would mean a sure conviction of 40-plus years. He said no, no, a hundred times no and finally, reluctantly, yes.

People listen to their lawyers...sadly sometimes.

[BourbonMan]

Brian Banks takes his next step with the UFL

In a different world, Brian Banks might have been an All-American linebacker at USC, a high NFL draft pick, and the owner of multiple Pro Bowl nominations by now. Instead, Banks' story and journey to the pros has a far more compelling narrative.

Falsely accused of rape at age 16, the former high school standout linebacker spent five years in prison and another five years on probation before he was finally exonerated in May. Banks, who had lost 50 pounds in the last year as he trained against all odds for the chance at the NFL he had been so cruelly denied before, immediately received interest from several NFL teams. Banks attended some summer minicamps, flew back to his Los Angeles home to begin work with elite NFL trainer Travelle Gaines, and bided his time.

Now, Banks has taken a significant step forward on his road to the NFL by signing with the Las Vegas Locos of the United Football League. The team announced the move on Wednesday.

That early list of NFL teams included the Kansas City Chiefs, San Diego Chargers, Washington Redskins and Seattle Seahawks, whose head coach, Pete Carroll, had received a verbal commitment to USC from Banks a decade before. In June, Banks went to Seattle for a test workout, which went well enough for Banks to be invited back for the team's mandatory minicamp later that month.

"I didn't even know if I was going to have a number, a jersey…I didn't know what to expect when I first got here," Banks said. "I got to my locker and saw there was a jersey in it — number 43. And I just wanted to take a picture of it just for myself. It's just amazing to see my name on the back of it. It's an honor to be taken serious and to be given this opportunity."

The most impressive thing about Banks from a purely competitive perspective was that after so long away from the game, he looked like an undrafted free agent who would probably come up short on first cuts. Banks ran to the ball with average speed in non-contact drills, he showed decent speed and flexibility in his drops, and he certainly appeared to be a step late to the action at times ... but given the circumstances, it was pretty impressive.

"Size-wise, strength-wise, and all that kind of stuff, he's in the right kind of profile," Carroll said after that first practice. "So he did a good job. We've got to look at the film and see what's going on with that, but I was really proud of him today."

"Well, you know, he's a little behind -- he might be a little rusty," Seahawks linebackers coach Ken Norton Jr. added. "But there's the foundation. Does he look like a ballplayer? Yes. Does he move well? Yes. Is there a chance? Absolutely. The idea is, can he line up, and can he chase the ball? It's about making a first impression, and I liked the first impression he left."

Banks went away without a contract offer, but he's been on the minds of those who run personnel in the NFL.
"He's further along that I would have thought," Seahawks general manager John Schneider told me in June. "As a group, we'd all say the same thing if we were sitting around the table. He really exceeded expectations. I thought he'd be somewhat out of shape, which he was, but he knows he has a long way to go from a training standpoint. But he fit in, and it was surprising throughout the weekend how well he did. He moved well, he saw the ball well. He knows he's a little late with things, and he's got a way to go. But we talked about it, and I think that he has a chance to be a practice squad player somewhere toward the middle of the season, when there are a lot of street [free agents] who become part of practice squads. I think that would be a great thing for him. In my mind, that would be his starting point.

"He's really a guy that you hope -- whether it's here or somewhere else -- he's on a practice squad, learning how to play again."

As Gaines told me during the three days I spent at his gym in West Hollywood in July, Banks changed the feel of the place from the moment he walked in. Gaines, who offered to train Banks free of charge, said that other players in the gym were more inspired to go through their workouts when perhaps they weren't feeling optimal, because they could see how much the chance meant to Banks.

Aware of his impact, Banks wants to be an inspiration.

"I feel like what I've been through these past 10 years shows that I have a determination factor of not giving up, of keeping hope in whatever it is that you want to accomplish in life that you can," Banks said in June, when asked what he can offer to teammates in a mental and emotional sense. "And I'm more than willing to be that person on any team that if someone is feeling down one day, or someone is feeling like giving up, or someone is feeling like they can't get to that next step in their life, I'm definitely there to talk to them and be that person of encouragement.

"At the same time, I feel like my situation is no different from anybody else's experiences. I always say, 'It's not what you go through, but how that experience affects you.'"

He's not where he wants to be just yet, but Brian Banks still has a chance to be affected by the NFL experience in a more permanent sense.

..

[Thig Lyfe]

Originally Posted by BourbonMan

In a different world, Brian Banks might have been an All-American linebacker at USC, a high NFL draft pick, and the owner of multiple Pro Bowl nominations by now.

Pro Bowl nominations? Isn't every player technically nominated for the Pro Bowl?

[pr_capone]

I hope this guy gets to wear an NFL jersey in a real game. That scummy bitch stole his entire future.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by BillSelfsTrophycase

This is why you don't dip your stick in crazy kids

That Casshole sig is tits.

What a maroon...

[BourbonMan]

New Falcon Brian Banks full of inspiration

Each offseason, Atlanta Falcons coach Mike Smith has his players read a book of inspiration or listen to a motivational speaker.


This offseason, Smith and the Falcons have gone a step further and brought in the real deal with Brian Banks, who signed with the team Wednesday. You can excuse Banks if his signature on the contract looked even larger than John Hancock's famous autograph.

This moment of personal accomplishment and freedom was 10 years in the making.

Banks is a living, breathing combination of the best of Stephen Covey, Joel Osteen and Jon Gordon. Ray Lewis has nothing on Banks when it comes to overcoming adversity. Smith has had his players listen to Gordon and even read some of his books, such as "The Energy Bus", "Soup" and "The Shark and The Goldfish".

Spend 30 minutes listening to Banks and you get the message better than Gordon could ever write or speak. Banks is a man who has gone from losing 10 years of his life to having a shot at a dream after his accuser finally recanted. Gordon has a future without the restrictions and disgusting reputation that went with being considered a sex offender.

"It's almost hard to explain or impossible to explain the feeling of not having freedom," Banks said during a conference call Wednesday. "To be stripped away of your freedom, of your dignity, of the respect you once had. To lose it all and watch the world pass you by as you sit inside a prison cell, knowing that you shouldn't be there, knowing that you're there for another person's lies, to lose it all and wake up one day and get it all back, it's a very humbling, spiritual feeling that you don't want to take anything for granted.

"Stepping outside your house when you want to, being able to sit on the stoop on the porch, being able to open up a refrigerator when you're hungry just to see what's inside of it. Just being able to be around people who smile at you and say hello to you and being able to say it back. Not to have to look over your shoulder in prison, behind bars. That's why I work so hard for the dreams I want to succeed in because there was one point I had nothing, I lost everything. I know it's something that most haven't experienced and I wish it was something no one ever had to experience."

The message was spoken clearly and concisely from a man who spent his years in prison reading every book he could find, looking up words in a thesaurus and practicing his public speaking even though he never knew if he'd ever use the skills he was practicing.

Banks, as has been well-documented, was wrongfully imprisoned for five years after being convicted of rape when he was 17. He was one of the top high school linebackers in the country, a junior at powerhouse Long Beach Poly High in California who had verbally committed to nearby Southern Cal.

[More: Offensive guru Greg Roman a victim of his own success]

He then spent five years on parole, having to wear a tracking device on his ankle, having to register as a sex offender, having to stay at least 2,000 feet from any school and having to endure the scorn of those who believed the accusations.

Sure, he was out of prison, but calling that freedom is akin to seeing a dog roam a yard while chained to a tree. Not only had a decade of his life been taken away, but the future held little promise. Find a job? Be serious: Banks was radioactive.

While that changed when his accuser finally admitted her story was a lie, getting to Wednesday took much more dedication from Banks. He signed his contract while wearing a blue sweatshirt with an appliqué of a California license that said "XONR8," smiling as proudly and happily as if he was 17 again. He not only used his time behind bars to better himself, he refused to give in to the violence, destruction and anger that pervades prison life. He describes the people who had a "one-track mind of violence and negativity."

"If you're in prison, especially in the state of California, you will be tested," said Banks, who was recently featured on "60 Minutes", has an Oscar-winning director following him for a documentary and is in talks for both a book and a feature film. "Riots, fights, you name it. … In order not to go crazy [in prison], I had to let go of my dreams and goals."

An overwhelming majority of people in Banks' situation would have some hint of scorn, of anger, of some negative emotion. Banks has none that you can detect and that's powerful by its absence. He thanked God and his mother for making him strong enough to resist breaking down mentally
That, of course, is a fine segue to what Smith and the Falcons are trying to accomplish. Football is defined by mental and physical hardship, about surviving whatever is thrown at you, both as an individual and as a team.

Atlanta finally took a step this past season by winning a playoff game for the first time under Smith and quarterback Matt Ryan. However, the Falcons lost the next week to San Francisco in the NFC championship game when a last-minute drive came up short at home.

In a competitive conference that features the San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers and the New York Giants among others, the Falcons are no sure thing to be in the hunt again. It is easy to imagine a scenario in which they don't even make the playoffs in a division that features the New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

To get back, the Falcons will have to put the disappointment of last season behind them.

Then again, considering what Banks has had to put aside from the past decade, what the Falcons can call disappointment is almost amusing.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nfl--ne...203601215.html

[ndws]

Originally Posted by BillSelfsTrophycase

This is why you don't dip your stick in crazy kids

For clarification, is that "crazy, kids"

or "crazy kids"

[Red Brooklyn]

Incredible. Good for him. Best of luck. I'll be excited to see what he can do for the Falcons.

[Mother****erJones]

Wow **** this guys attorney. What a pussy of an attorney. Good attorneys would fight it. If there's no semen found in the rape test, and no witnesses how would he have been convicted? Because he is black? Right good job by his attorney

[BlackHelicopters]

We need all the non-rapists we can get.

[kepp]

Originally Posted by dtchiefs4life

Wow **** this guys attorney. What a pussy of an attorney. Good attorneys would fight it. If there's no semen found in the rape test, and no witnesses how would he have been convicted? Because he is black? Right good job by his attorney

And nothing happens to the girl who lied and stole a decade of his life.