Not Guilty

Not Guilty dan skognes motivation blogger speaker teacher trainer coach educatorOne of the big stories this week (at least here in Dallas) was that Lucky Whitehead was released from the Cowboy’s training camp when a police report came out that he had been charged with shoplifting. The media mentioned that he had a $500,000 contract and “blew” it when he went on a shoplifting spree. Almost as an afterthought they added that he denied it happened and that it was not even him. You could almost see their eyes rolling and saying, “Yeah, right!”

When I heard the report, I was shocked, appalled, and frankly a little mad. Here is a very talented man that once again did not appreciate what he had and wasted a great career opportunity for a momentary thrill. I had all those thoughts because that is how the story was told to the public.

As the day progressed, more information came out. Guess what? Lucky was telling the truth! It was someone using his identity that had been arrested. Wow. What a ridiculous scenario all the way around.

These questions immediately came to mind:

  • How could a reputable police department make such a stupid mistake? Are you telling me they don’t know how to identify someone correctly? Wow.
  • Why would the Cowboys release him without getting all the facts? Perhaps the timing was coincidental, but if that were the case, they would have said so. Why did they not give him a second chance once the truth came out? Wow.
  • Why did the media jump to the guilty verdict without really investigating what happened and at least getting the full truth from Lucky? Wow.
  • Why did I allow myself to be swayed by the news before all the facts were in? I know better than to believe everything I hear and everything I see. There are always two sides to every pancake; I don’t care how flat you make it. Wow.

Lucky, if you are reading this by some small miracle, I want to apologize to you for what happened. Nobody deserves to have their name dragged through the mud like that and their career ruined. I know you will probably never get an apology from the police department, the Cowboys, the media, or all the people who misjudged you as I did, but I apologize to you on behalf of all of them and pray that you get with a team that values your efforts. Don’t let this fiasco deter your or discourage you. Success is the best revenge.

Shalom!

Dan Skognes

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