This is one of those cases where you have a person that has made it out of the “hood” but cannot leave the hood ways behind him. Pac-Man Jones, has had not just one but two opportunities to live the dream that many little black boys playing football in their backyards hope to have a chance at. He has had the opportunity to play professional sports on the biggest stage possible and yet find a way to muck that up by consistently finding ways to get involved with “street nonsense.”

Personally, I can care less about Adam Jones or what happens to him. My only thing is that I hate to see another black man who has been blessed to have a chance for a better life, piss it all away just to keep some street credibility.

In the end, Pac-Man Jones’ latest antics should really not come as no surprise to football fans. The only person who should feel like an ass is Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys. During an interview on ESPN last year, Pac-Man pretty much said if it came down to choosing between his friends and playing football he would choose his friends. 

I wonder where his friends will be we he finally gets himself banned from the NFL.

Anyone who knows me, knows I am one of the biggest skeptics and pessimists in the world. When it comes to black people, both of my previously mentioned attributes really hit the forefront. 18-months ago, I was a blind, Hillary Clinton supporter. I supported her, mainly because of the fact that she had been in the White House before. When Barack Obama announced his candidacy for President, I scoffed at the meer notion. I never gave Barack Obama a chance mostly for the reason that he was African-American like me.

You see, when you grow up in the deep south, you receive this kind of programming, that there are limits on just how far a black man can go in this world. When you are black in the deep south, you are often never the recipient of encouragement, but discouragement is plentiful and you can find it on any corner in the ‘hood. The idea that a black man could ever be president, was something you heard mentioned on TV sit-coms, and portrayed in movies, either way you knew it was an idea written in a script. I never thought in my lifetime, I would ever witness with my own two eyes, the day that a black man would stand on the cusp of becoming the most powerful man in the United States of America. That all changed on January 22, 2008.

During that Democratic debate in South Carolina, I finally heard Barack Obama speak. I heard an intelligent black man stand up on a stage and hold his own against other people, who looked nothing like him. Here was a brother who obviously believed he had just as much right to be on that stage as much as John Edwards and Hillary Clinton.  As I sat there and continued to watch the debate, I found myself thinking that here was the one guy who could change the way the world viewed black people. He didn’t flinch, he didn’t stutter, he didn’t look at the ground when he talked, for me, it was an amazing spectacle to behold. That night, when the debate was over, I immediately shifted my support to Barack Obama, because for the first time in life I believed in somebody. For the first time in life, I felt a little hopeful.

Hope is one emotion that I have personally never had a lot of use for in my life. When I sat in front of my TV during the Democratic Convention and watched Barack’s life story, that ‘hopeful’ feeling grew stronger. Here was a person, whom I could finally identify with. A black man, whose father abandoned him as a small boy, had a rough upbringing but yet found the strength to not fold. Here was a brother, who took advantage of the opportunities he was afforded and made the most of them. He was intelligent and confident, and he made no apologies about being so. When I sat in front of my TV and watched Barack Obama accept the Presidential Nomination of the Democratic party, I felt an flood of emotions all at once, but the one that stood out the most was Inspiration.

Barack Obama has both and inspired me and given me hope. At a time when I wanted to give up on myself, and really didn’t care if I lived or died, I heard Barack Obama speak in the South Carolina debate. When I was feeling hopeless, I witnessed Barack Obama accept the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. Instead of sitting around feeling sorry for myself, I now find myself wanting to get involved, and contribute my efforts.  I have found the inspiration to want to be a part of improving my community and the world I live in. As a black man, Barack Obama’s mere existence at this point right now, lets me know that having integrity is still fashionable and being confident is not being cocky. Whether Barack Obama becomes the next President or not, I know that the mere fact that he has the chance to be, lets me know that I too have a chance to achieve my dreams as well.

That is truly change that I can believe in.