Posted on 11/25/2007 7:45:05 AM PST by madprof98
Former professional basketball player Jason Caffey had two children with his wife, and at least six other children with women in metro Atlanta, Alabama, Louisiana and Illinois.
Professional football player Travis Henry, a Denver Broncos running back with a $25 million contract, has nine children by nine women in four Southern states, including a Lithonia boy fathered out of wedlock three years ago.
Caffey, who earned as much as $5 million a season in a 10-year NBA career with the Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks, filed for bankruptcy in Alabama in August. His wife, who lives in Roswell, filed for divorce last year after eight years of marriage.
"She didn't know about all of the children," her lawyer told Journal-Constitution reporter Tim Eberly. "She knew about a few. She had no idea he was being that disrespectful to her."
In Henry's case, a propensity to exercise "bad judgment in his spending habits" put him behind on the $3,000-per-month in support payments for the Lithonia boy.
So the judge in that case —- DeKalb Superior Court Judge Clarence Seeliger —- did something that should be mandated by law or become standard practice for judges presiding over child-support cases involving athletes, entertainers and others of means, particularly in cases involving out-of-wedlock births. To guarantee the child's financial security, Seeliger required Henry to create and fund a $250,000 trust on the boy's behalf.
Coincidentally, federal authorities in Richmond, Va., asked for a similar guarantee on behalf of pit bulls. Citing Michael Vick's "deteriorating financial condition," prosecutors asked a U.S. District Court judge to freeze about $928,000 to care for 54 pit bulls seized from his Bad Newz Kennels property in Virginia. Children deserve as much.
The Caffey story coincides with release of a Brookings Institution study by Julia Issacs that tracked incomes of 2,367 families over 30 years. It found that two-thirds of the number, now grown to more than 8,000 families, have inflation-adjusted incomes higher than those of their parents. That's true in about the same percentages for blacks and whites, Issacs finds.
While median family income for both blacks and whites increased over those three decades, an income gap persists. "Between 1974 and 2004, white and black men in their 30s experienced a decline in income, with the largest decline among black men," Issacs writes. Families beat their parents largely because more households had two breadwinners and because of gains in women's incomes.
As framed by The Associated Press —- "decades after the civil rights movement," the black-white income gap persists —- this is a discrimination issue. Yet as Isaacs noted, "the lack of income growth for black men combined with low marriage rates in the black population has had a negative impact on trends in family incomes for black families."
At some point, the nation —- and more importantly, influential blacks of the post-civil rights generation —-really do have to address the harm intentionally inflicted on children by unmarried adults. When 69.3 percent of black children, 46.4 percent of Hispanic children and 24.5 percent of white children are born to unmarried women, the nation has a serious problem.
Rich athletes and entertainers are the Murphy Browns of this era. Fifteen years ago, Murphy Brown was an unmarried television sitcom character who opted to find fulfillment by having a baby rather than buying a puppy. Vice President Dan Quayle created a national stir by criticizing the character for "mocking the importance of fathers by bearing a child alone and calling it just another lifestyle choice."
Quayle's point was that role models are obligated to consider the consequences of their actions. Rich actressses and well-educated women with high earning potential can toy with children's lives, just as rich athletes can pleasure themselves at children's expense. But when the poor and uneducated pick up the culturally sanctioned lifestyle, it's deadly for children and for the nation.
> Jim Wooten is the associate editorial page editor. His column appears Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays.
jwooten@ajc.com
Sorry, I just don't believe it.
As framed by The Associated Press ...
It was a badly constructed sentence all around.
Travis Henry's in deep trouble already. He's on my fantasy team as an RB, and he's been injured and worthless the past few games. If he makes it back this season, he still has a potential suspension for being an idiot druggie and failing his drug test earlier this season. Finally, Selvin Young made a good impression as a starter (then got injured) and then Andre Hall had a big day as a third stringer running first string (picked him up last week.) Bottom line is that each of the seconday and third RBs did a better job in the games they played than I've seen from Henry all season.
He may not be "all that" after all. Least he could do is be "a dad". It will cost him one way or another in the end.
He's going to wish he had more friends when the giant pool of money dries up.
heh, he was on my FF team as well, but i got rid of him. i figured since i wouldnt play him in real life i dont want him on my fantasy team. however, as a joke, i picked up vick as a backup to payton manning seeing as the bye weeks are over.
The Rednecks have dropped Travis Henry because he is a druggie with a torn knee ligament and his mother dresses him funny. Will you give him a home?
50% No - I can deal with a dozen Cub Scouts but NFL RBs require too much supervision!
50% Yes - What is the NFL if not a large halfway house for Hip-Hop Felons? Welcome aboard, Ricky! I mean, Travis...
0% Maybe - If the knee doesn't finish him the suspension will, but I'm desperate...
Still waiting for the People mag cover title: Brad and Angelina welcome their bastard child!
Duh.
“the black-white income gap persists —- this is a discrimination issue.”
There are many blacks who live in better houses and drive cars way out of my price range. Not to mention legal protections they will probably recieve for the rest of my lifetime that can translate into ecomomic benefits. At the same time because of the crime rate and increasing mobility of the black community, the property wealth of whites has taken quite a hit in the past twenty years. I am unconcerned about an income gap because it has narrowed and the way it has narrowed.
bastard child!
There are NO CHILDREN like what you have described.
True. As an adjective, it has a subtly different meaning. The proper term is simply "bastard."
American Heritage Dictionary, Fourth Edition
bas·tard (bās'tərd) n.
A child born out of wedlock.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1), Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary
bas·tard [bas-terd] -noun
1. a person born of unmarried parents; an illegitimate child.
Merriam-Webster Online
Main Entry: 1bas·tard
Pronunciation: \'bas-tərd\
Function: noun
1: an illegitimate child
While median family income for both blacks and whites increased over those three decades, an income gap persists. "Between 1974 and 2004, white and black men in their 30s experienced a decline in income, with the largest decline among black men," Issacs writes. Families beat their parents largely because more households had two breadwinners and because of gains in women's incomes.
My wife is a stay-at-home mom for the good of the kids. It's slow financial suicide. My retirement plan is dying at my desk. My plan for the kids future is carrying a lot of life insurance and riding a fast motorcycle....
So what's the story? Have kids when you're married so you can put them in daycare while you both work?!
I make good money, but I am part of the first generation, Gen X, that will have a lower standard of living than the previous generation.
I totally agree with you. Some star has a baby and oh my God...they are instant experts and theirs is the only pregnancy ever. Makes me sick too. I’m glad you clarified your statement. I always think of the kids first.
the dictionaries can give any meaning to it they want but there are no children who are called that. NONE.
Ping list for the discussion of the politics and social (and sometimes nostalgic) aspects that directly effects Generation Reagan / Generation-X (Those born from 1965-1981) including all the spending previous generations are doing that Gen-X and Y will end up paying for.
Freep mail me to be added or dropped. See my home page for details and previous articles.
” “She knew about a few. She had no idea he was being that disrespectful to her.” “
Somebody tell me when it’s okay to laugh at this.
That’s 1 I’d like to see.
Or at least a paraphrase of it (”insert male and female name here”).
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