18-year-old Charlotte high school senior Charney Watt had a lot going for her. She was a cheerleader at Olympic High School as well as a track star, and had just been accepted to college. But all that’s moot now, as she was shot and killed by her boyfriend on Sunday in a domestic dispute.

Gary Daniels, also 18, is charged with Watt’s murder. She was found dead of a gunshot wound inside his house, so it looks like pretty much a slam-dunk case against him. Domestic violence situations between teenagers often go unreported, and now a young woman with a bright future has lost her life.

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ESPN THE MAGAZINE has a treatment this week on the perception fans have of the NBA. Of course, race is the central issue. Brian Scalabrine of the Boston Celtics, who is white, said this in the piece:

“The misperception of our league is definitely race-driven. Suppose that for a whole year, none of our players got into a fight, no one got arrested, no one got ticketed for speeding. Do you think the public would have a different opinion of the league? I bet not. But I do think public opinion would be completely different if 75% of the players in the NBA were white instead of black.” Read more…