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Brian Banks, football player exonerated in rape case, signs with Atlanta Falcons
CBS News ^ | April 3, 2013, 10:18 AM

Posted on 04/03/2013 12:11:48 PM PDT by Pan_Yan

ATLANTA Brian Banks said signing with the Atlanta Falcons is his second-biggest accomplishment.

The biggest was Banks' exoneration of rape charges one year ago.

Banks, 27, signed with the Falcons on Wednesday, giving him an opportunity he said he did not believe would be possible when he spent five years in prison and five years on probation following his conviction of rape and kidnapping charges a decade ago.

"I felt at the time in order for me to exit prison with a sane mind and be able to just function as a person I had to let go of certain dreams and goals I once held in life, football being one of them," Banks said.

Banks said he "couldn't have asked for a better place to be" than with the Falcons.

"I can't believe this is happening," he said. "It's surreal."

Banks was a 16-year-old junior and had made a verbal commitment to sign with Southern Cal when Wanetta Gibson, a Long Beach Poly high school classmate accused him of the rape.

Gibson recanted her claim and offered to help Banks clear his name after he was out of prison. That helped lead to the conviction being overturned by a California court and Banks' record cleared on May 12, 2012.

Banks' original defense attorney, Elizabeth Harris, declined to talk to "60 Minutes" as did Gibson, who has not returned the money she won in her lawsuit.

(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...


TOPICS: Sports
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To: Sioux-san

And the Non-Rapist Tebow continues to be disparaged....

<><><><><

How, in any way, does your statement connect to this story?

The man in this story is also a non rapist.

And I don’t know who you are talking to, but pretty much no one is talking about Tebow these days, except a GM in the Arena Football League who would like to sign him.

Tebow is not at all unique in the sense that we was a standout college football player, whose skills seem not to translate well to the NFL, at least in his position of choice.


21 posted on 04/03/2013 1:02:18 PM PDT by dmz
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To: Pan_Yan

LOL. Really, you read all comments to the end of a thread before you respond to any particular comment? That’s impressive.


22 posted on 04/03/2013 1:05:52 PM PDT by dmz
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To: dmz
you read all comments to the end of a thread before you respond to any particular comment?

I try. Sometimes I'm weak, though, especially when the thread is several pages. However, before I blast someone with both barrels I usually hit the "view replies" button to see if they're already dead.

23 posted on 04/03/2013 1:10:42 PM PDT by Pan_Yan (I love it when spell check selects every single word in my post.)
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To: Anitius Severinus Boethius

She cheated the school out of $1.5 mil and now she claims she is flat broke and it appears they are not going to go after her.


24 posted on 04/03/2013 1:22:26 PM PDT by jaydubya2
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To: jaydubya2

IIRC she’s blew through the money, is unmarried, has a couple of kids and made up the rape story because she didn’t want anyone to think she was easy.


25 posted on 04/03/2013 1:26:09 PM PDT by Pan_Yan (I love it when spell check selects every single word in my post.)
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To: Wyatt's Torch

At any givin time, half the people here don’t bother to read the articles. They just like to post comment.


26 posted on 04/03/2013 1:43:48 PM PDT by BBell (And Now for Something Completely Different)
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To: BBell

FR should give everyone a default tagline that reads “Proudly commenting since [sign-up date] without reading the original article!”


27 posted on 04/03/2013 1:47:32 PM PDT by jjotto ("Ya could look it up!")
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To: Anitius Severinus Boethius; OKRA2012

mea culpa, mea maxima culpa!


28 posted on 04/03/2013 2:53:29 PM PDT by laweeks
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To: Pan_Yan

I am truly very, very happy for him. When he was charged and convicted of such a heinous crime, he must have thought his career was over before it ever began. Then to sit in prison, branded a rapist... must have been one of his lowest points mentally in his life. Good for you, Brian Banks! I wish him the very best of luck!


29 posted on 04/04/2013 5:44:57 AM PDT by momtothree
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To: laweeks

I know laweeks wishes him the best of luck as well. Don’t worry, laweeks, I still love you. LOL!


30 posted on 04/04/2013 5:46:45 AM PDT by momtothree
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