Jenna Laine at SportsFanLive.com reports on the largely unknown criminal past of former Abilene Christian offensive lineman and NFL prospect Tony Washington.
In May 2003, Washington was convicted of having sex with a relative that multiple NFL and college sources say was his 15-year old biological sister. The act was consensual, according to his college coaches and two NFL scouts, who spoke to him about the incident.
The sister does not wish to speak publicly on the case, according to Washington’s agent, who added that the siblings are now on good terms and talk often. Washington received five years probation and did not serve jail time.
Thanks to his extraordinary physical ability, the 24-year-old Washington was eventually taken in by Trinity Valley Community College coach Mark Sartain and Abilene Christian coach Chris Thomsen. Washington’s projected as high as a second-round selection in the upcoming NFL draft.
Laine balances the piece between those coaches, who are sympathetic to Washington’s plight, and unnamed NFL scouts, who provide the necessary reality check.
The lengthy piece does give plenty of background on Washington, and he mostly comes off as a fine, upstanding citizen. But there’s one gaping hole that author of the piece inexplicably left unexplored. A hole that one of Laine’s NFL scout sources brought up:
One NFL scout, who asked to remain anonymous, isn’t so sure. He points to the fact that the 24-year old has already been divorced, which could suggest a pattern of broken relationships. “I worry about this kid. Whether it’s that again or something else, he has a history of serious problems,” he said.
“What disturbs me is that I don’t know if he sees anything wrong with it,” the scout added. “He said where he comes from, this kind of thing happens all the time. I don’t think he’s at all ready for the rejection he’s about to face once people find out.”
From the overall tone of the piece, that comment comes off as non-sequitur, and there’s no follow from Laine. For that reason, it’s impossible to be convinced that Washington is well-positioned to handle scrutiny that soon awaits him.
3:40 pm on March 9th, 2010
Wow! Let one of the stupid franchises take this mental case.
4:10 pm on March 9th, 2010
He’d fit right in with the Bengals.
4:19 pm on March 9th, 2010
“He e-mailed me several times asking for an opportunity to play and finally sent me a grainy tape,” Sartain said. “You could barely see him in it.”
A Grainy tape of what?!! I think somebody should be looking into that lead…
4:28 pm on March 9th, 2010
He had an ‘off-field’ issue… an off-the-field in the bed with the sister issue… he only has a 64 percent chance of re-offending says the coaches… relax..
6:45 pm on March 9th, 2010
His DOB says 1986, and if he was convicted in 2003 that would have most likely made him 17. How is that a crime? It’s wrong, but it doesn’t sound like a crime unless I’m missing something. Also, wtf media? That police report appears to have a social security number on it.
7:55 pm on March 9th, 2010
Incest with a minor?
8:34 pm on March 9th, 2010
“It’s not like he killed a person” - Mike Vick Apologists
9:04 pm on March 9th, 2010
The sister does not wish to speak publicly on the case, according to Washington’s agent, who added that the siblings are now on good terms and talk often.
good terms my ass, I bet they’re still fucking.
10:11 pm on March 9th, 2010
This would be a good article to not comment on.
10:17 pm on March 9th, 2010
Most. Disturbing. Post. Ever.
1:28 am on March 10th, 2010
In Texas sex offenders are registered with the state and their information can be viewed by anyone online. It is good to know if Mr. Molester is living next door. The blacked out part of the “police report” is the SID. I am not sure what it stands for, but it is one digit short of a SSN. The “police report” is the sex offenders registry page with all sorts of tid bits. If you have not looked up sex offenders in your area you should. By the way, Texas allows you to keep a gun in your house in case Mr. Molester tries to take your kid from your front yard.
2:26 am on March 10th, 2010
it said there on good terms?????
hahaha yeah good terms as in still INCEST EACHOTHER!!!!
7:47 am on March 10th, 2010
“He said where he comes from, this kind of thing happens all the time.”
Who didn’t know this about Texas…. Cowboy fans pork their sisters all the time!!
9:23 am on March 10th, 2010
Incest is the BEST put your Sister to the TEST!
10:19 am on March 10th, 2010
Poor guy well if he gets drafted he can then afford to hire an expensive lawyer to say what a wonderful person he is and that its only because of his shildhood oops that’s where he learned his hobbies does this sound familiar I wonder what that idiot oberlerman or how every you spell it will glaus over this one
10:23 am on March 10th, 2010
Biggest pick up line in Texas: “Hey sis, are you awake?”
10:29 am on March 10th, 2010
I agree with me. He was 17 and she was 15. You are correct incest is illegal but these 2 were minors. where are the parents? Did they share a room? what is the back ground?
2:43 pm on March 10th, 2010
“He said where he comes from, this kind of thing happens all the time.”
The fine folks of Alabama concur
2:49 pm on March 10th, 2010
“He said where he comes from, this kind of thing happens all the time.”
Throws up in mouth.
4:49 pm on March 10th, 2010
Do yourselves a favor and check the stats on adolescent sex offending. It is an entirely different phenomenon than adult sex offending. For example, the rate of recidivism among adolescent sex offenders is only 7-12%, dramatically lower than the adult recidivism rates, not to mention recidivism rates for non-sexual juvenile offenders. The fact is kids age-out of the behavior, and it’s also highly treatable. I’d be much more worried about a guy’s character if he had a juvenile robbery or burglary conviction than if he slept with his sister. Sounds weird, I know, but them’s the facts.
8:20 pm on March 10th, 2010
sure Brad…(moving quietly to other side of blog room)…whatever you say (slowly taking keys out of pocket)…thanks for the insight on incest!…(runs like hell out the front door)…
9:23 pm on March 10th, 2010
@RfK — Ha. I’m a juvenile defense attorney, and this happens to be an issue I feel very strongly about. Frankly it offends me like he’ll that the dude was required to register as a sex offender. He’s one of the least likely ex-offenders to re-offend, but he ends up ostracized by paranoia and ignorance. I’m not cool with that. I hope the dude has put all of this behind him and that he goes on to have a great career.
12:28 am on March 11th, 2010
Brad: A defense lawyer… really? And you can’t tell the difference between “he’ll” and ‘Hell’?
12:21 pm on March 11th, 2010
@wtf: iPhone autocorrect. Blame Apple.
2:39 pm on March 12th, 2010
So if they had a kid, his son would be his brother then??
Just trying to keep this all straight here
10:45 am on September 29th, 2010
no his son would be his son and his nephew