People Still Celebrate R. Kelly?

"Hey, girl!  You like Dora the Explorer?"

I'm watching the BET Awards last night and R. Kelly comes out to perform.  Now, I don't watch a lot of awards shows, but as of late, I've been getting back into them.  I once owned Kelly's "12 Play" CD.  It's one of the greatest R&B albums of all-time, if you ask me.  However, I can no longer listen to it because of the accusations thrown towards Kelly's way.

Here are some of the accusations:

In '96, a woman sued him for having inappropriate sexual relations with her when he was 24 and she was 15.  That case was settled for what was reported as $250,000 and the victim isn't allowed to speak about the case ever again.

In '99, he met a lady who was 17 at the time.  Now, although she said they never had sex until they were 18, she spoke of how backstage at an R. Kelly concert looked like a junior prom from all of the under aged girls.

In '00, his manager retired and said that Kelly needed professional help.  His manager was the uncle of singer, Aaliyah, who was once married to Kelly as a teen before that got annulled.  Rumor has it that he married her because she missed her period and thought she was pregnant.  The marriage would protect him from her being subpoenaed to testify against him in court for a statutory rape charge.  Wives can't testify against their husbands.  However, it was reported that she wasn't pregnant, but only missed her period due to an STD that he gave her.

In '01, a 17 year old claimed Kelly took her virginity.  That case was settled out of court like many others.  Kelly's "girlfriends" tended to want to settle more than put him away.

In '02, a teen said she met Kelly at her prom and eventually wound up pregnant by him.  She claimed that one of his associates took her to get an abortion and she also settled out of court.

What's so sad is that these aren't even all of the accusations made against the popular singer.  There were other cases that I chose not to mention to prevent such a long blog post.  That's a lot of finger pointing to one man if you ask me.  Do these ladies want a payday?  Well, yes.  From the sounds of it, they all did.

But, I personally believe that where there's smoke, there's fire.  And even if all of these accusations aren't true, the marriage to Aaliyah on 8/31/94, which has been confirmed, is enough for me to realize that dude is a pedophile.  But not enough for his fans.  No matter how many people come out of the "wood works," as long as he's keeping people dancing to his music, he gets a pass.

And that's what I saw tonight.  People still celebrate R. Kelly despite the fact that he has the history that he does.  Not me.  Everyone deserves a second chance and everyone deserves to be forgiven.  But, molesting children is the lowest of the low and because of that, I can't listen to him or watch him.

Do you think R. Kelly deserves to be celebrated despite multiple reported pay offs, a marriage to teen Aaliyah, but no convictions?

Call Off The Dogs

Okay, okay, okay. Everyone has had plenty of time to take their shots at Michael Vick about this dog fighting thing, but when will it end? It's time to stop hating on Mike and I'll tell you why:

Because people need to be more upset about more important things in this country.

Recently, baseball player, Mark Buehrle was being interviewed about his effort to rescue a wounded dog (arrow stuck in abdomen). While discussing the noble effort, he took time to say the following about Vick:

"He had a great year and a great comeback, but there were times where we watched the game, and I know it's bad to say, but there were times where we hope he gets hurt," Buehrle told MLB.com. "Everything you've done to these dogs, something bad needs to happen to these guys."

"...hope he gets hurt?" In 2007, Vick was convicted for his role in dog fighting. Here's how Michael Vick got "hurt":

- Convicted of a felony related to a dogfighting ring and served 19 months in prison.
- Lost a $100 million dollar contract with the NFL, his starting job, his home, and two seasons of play.
- Will forever be labelled as a dog killer.


How much more hurting does he have to do before you're satisfied? Look, I love animals, especially dogs, but personally, I value human life more than animal life. I know that some people treat dogs like family and I'm okay with that to a certain extent. But some of the things I've heard coming from the mouths of dog lovers like Vick should be "put down" or "neutered" are some of the most unjustifiable things I've heard in a long time.

We're not talking about O.J. Simpson killing people or R. Kelly peeing on a 14-year old girl, but about a man who fought and killed dogs. Now, of those three, which two do you think are more serious of crimes?

Yet, I have seen many picket signs condemning Vick and many interviews of people who are absolutely disgusted about what he did to those dogs.

Then, I started thinking, "how many picket signs do I see at court houses across the country when a lady gets raped?"
"When was the last time someone came on MSNBC to talk about a man abusing his child?"


We're so numb to crimes against humans that it doesn't matter any more. "Law & Order" and "C.S.I." makes it easy for us to be nonchalant about dead bodies, I guess. Unless it's one of Michael Vick's dogs.

He did his time. Well, actually, thanks to some of you, he's still doing his time. He lost his job. He lost his money. He lost his home. He lost time with his kids. He lost his livelihood. Plenty of people have done worse and suffered less. Let it go, people. Call off the dogs, so to speak.

I have nothing against dog lovers, but let's keep things in perspective, people, okay? What Michael Vick did was wrong and I can't stress that enough. But if you want to speak out against him, then I expect you to speak out against other criminals with the same intensity!

To help you with that task, I've provided a list below of the names of NFL players arrested in 2010. I want you to sort through the DUI's, assaults, and domestic violence charges until you find a new athlete to hate on in 2011. One that has endangered the life of a human:

12/27/10: Redskins DT Joe Joseph is arrested for DUI.
12/26/10: Ravens LB Sergio Kindle is arrested for DUI.
12/20/10: Broncos LB Kevin Alexander is arrested for assault and battery.
12/13/2010: Buccaneers LB Geno Hayes is arrested for disorderly conduct and trespassing.
12/10/2010: Broncos CB Perrish Cox is arrested for sexual assault.
11/27/2010: Saints DE Will Smith is arrested for domestic violence.
11/19/2010: Buccaneers WR Mike Williams is arrested for suspicion of DUI.
11/13/2010: Seahawks DE Raheem Brock is arrested for DUI.
11/12/2010: Broncos LB D.J. Williams is arrested for suspicion of DUI.
10/23/2010: Buccaneers TE Jerramy Stevens is arrested for felony possession of cannabis with intent to distribute, felony possession of cannabis, and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.
10/20/2010: Colts P Patrick McAfee is arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct.
10/5/10: Panthers WR Dwayne Jarrett arrested for driving while impaired.
9/21/10: Jets WR Braylon Edwards arrested for DUI.
9/18/10: Ravens assistant coach Andy Moeller is arrested for DUI.
9/3/10: Colts DT Fili Moala is arrested for DUI.
8/30/10: Bucs assistant defensive line coach Chris Mosley is arrested for DUI.
8/17/10: Browns DB Gerard Lawson pleads no contest to DUI charges.
8/9/10: Colts DT John Gill is arrested for public intoxication.
8/8/10: Browns DB Gerard Lawson is charged with drunk driving and hit-skip.
7/24/10: Rams CB Jerome Murphy is arrested for driving without a valid license.
7/19/10: Falcons DT Jonathan Babineaux pleads no contest to marijuana possession.
7/7/2010: Buccaners OT Jeremy Trueblood is arrested for public intoxication.
7/5/2010: JaMarcus Russell Free Agent (Former Raider) QB arrested for possession of controlled substance (Codeine).
7/3/2010: Seahawks RB Quinton Ganther is arrested for DUI.
6/29/2010: Bengals RB Cedric Benson is arrested for assault with injury.
6/26/2010: Lions president Tom Lewand is arrested for DUI.
6/16/2010: Titans DE Derrick Morgan is arrested for speeding and driving with an expired license.
6/13/2010: Titans QB Vince Young is cited for misdemeanor assault.
5/26/2010: Dolphins DE Phillip Merling is arrested for aggravated battery.
5/24/2010: Chargers S Kevin Ellison is arrested for possession of 100 Vicodin pills.
5/23/2010: Saints rookie Harry Coleman is arrested for simple battery.
5/16/2010: Buccaneers WR Mario Urrutia is arrested for a misdemeanor drivers license violation.
5/4/2010: Bengals WR Maurice Purify is arrested for disorderly conduct.
4/30/2010: Chargers WR Vincent Jackson pleads guilty to knowingly driving with a suspended license.
4/27/2010: Free-agent S Clinton Hart is arrested for domestic battery.
4/17/2010: Browns RB Chris Jennings is arrested for suspicion of assault.
4/10/2010: Seahawks LB Leroy Hill is arrested for domestic violence.
4/1/2010: Browns DT Shaun Rogers is arrested for possession of a weapon.
4/1/2010: Seahawks LB Leroy Hill pleads guilty to marijuana possession.
3/27/10: Cardinals LB Joey Porter is arrested for DUI, resisting arrest, and assaulting a peace officer.
3/26/10: Bears OL Lance Louis pleads guilty to misdemeanor battery.
3/19/10: Dolphins RB Ronnie Brown is arrested on suspicion of DUI.
3/13/10: Packers TE Spencer Havner is arrested for DUI. (His agents have denied that he was charged.)
2/23/10: Chargers WR Vincent Jackson pleads guilty to DUI charges.
2/20/10: Dolphins CB Will Allen is arrested for DUI.
2/19/10: Redskins CB Byron Westbrook is arrested for DUI, negligent driving, and failure to drive right of center.
2/7/10: Dolphins DE Tony McDaniel is arrested for misdemeanor battery.
2/2/10: Cowboys FB Deon Anderson is arrested for traffic warrants and brandishing a weapon.
2/2/10: Bengals LB Rey Maualuga pleads guilty to DUI.
1/30/10: Chiefs CB Michael Richardson is arrested for various alcohol-related charges.
1/18/10: Redskins G Chad Rinehart is arrested for public intoxication.
1/17/10: Chargers WR Vincent Jackson is arrested for driving with a suspended license.
1/15/10: Titans WR Kenny Britt is arrested for outstanding traffic tickets.
1/15/10: Former Bears DT Dusty Dvoracek is arrested for public intoxication, assault and battery, and interference with an official process.
1/12/10: Jets WR Braylon Edwards pleads no contest to assault charges.
1/10/10: Bucs S Jermaine Phillips is arrested for felony domestic battery by strangulation.
1/1/10: Colts WR Taj Smith is arrested for DUI.

And you act as if Michael Vick is the worst guy on the planet.

Free Pass

No, I'm not talking about Falen's "Hall Pass" post. I'm talking about people giving others a free pass just because they are biased.

Free Pass #1: R. Kelly
Robert, who I think is part Native American (native name is Flowing Stream), has been accused three times of child molestation and/or porn. Well, let's just call it what it is: it's rape. Molestation is a word someone made up to "pretty up" an act of rape. R married the late Aaliyah when she was 15 years old (Vibe Magazine showed the marriage certificate and the marriage was eventually annulled because of her age). He was also allegedly in a video where he sexed a teen and peed on her. The 21 counts of child porn were later dropped because the (well-paid) Chicago family didn't want to press charges. This happened a month after he was charged with 12 counts of child porn in Florida (which were also thrown out for search/seizure reasons).



Where there's smoke, there's fire. Three times he's been accused (one proven) of child rape. Yet, he opens for the B.E.T. Awards and Twitter goes wild with "R did it big tonight" tweets.

If you're willing to put down your morals for a child rapist just because you like his music, then I'd like to see you try to justify it in the comments section below.

If R. Kelly was an everyday John Doe who worked at the gas station down the street who peed on a 14-year old girl, you'd be the first person to volunteer to be on the jury to send him to jail. But since he can sing and you have the "12 Play" album, then let him slide. After all, "she knew what she was doing," right?

It's easy to sweep crimes under the rug when a woman is the victim.

Free Pass #2: Charlie Sheen
I wouldn't come down so hard this dude if he only hurt himself, but he has endangered the lives of others more than once. This coke head doesn't hide who he is. He's put more up his nose than an elephant locked in a peanut factory. No matter how close he gets to killing himself annually, more people watch his show and CBS gives him a raise to buy more dope/hookers.

Even Keith Richards thinks he should slow down on the partying. Yet, every week, "Two and A Half Men" is high in the television ratings. Why? Because he makes us laugh, it's okay for him to threaten his wife, scare hookers with his behavior, and get so many rides to the E.R. that his 10th ambulance trip is free.



Charlie Sheen will probably outlive all of us, but time-after-time, he apologizes for his behavior, thanks his fans and CBS for their support, and checks into a spa resort... uh, I mean "rehab." Months later he'll be found unconscious in a hotel room with a Jagermeister I.V. in his arm.

What does that say about us as a country? What does that say about you as a person? As long as a person is talented, then it's okay, right?

R. Kelly can pee on my daughter any time since he's my favorite singer, right?

I'd love to live next door to Charlie Sheen's wild parties because he makes me laugh, right?

Sure, it's cool to forgive and give second chances to people we don't even know, but giving someone a third and fourth chance shows that it's not just something wrong with them... it's something wrong with you.