Shaun Rogers, a Defensive Tackle for the Cleveland Browns, was fined $400,000 by the league for violating its personal conduct policy. Rogers was caught carrying a loaded gun inside an airport. The fine represents approximately 1/17th of his $6.9 million salary.

Some would say that Rogers got off easy, since it would have been no surprise to see him either suspended or sent to jail. The player was caught carrying a loaded semi-automatic handgun in his carry-on bag at Hopkins International Airport. There's no indication regarding whether or not he realized that TSA agents actually have the ability to see inside of someone's luggage with their x-ray machine. It's hard to imagine what he might have been thinking.


One of the reasons Rogers was let off so easily by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell might have something to do with a good samaritan act Shaun committed recently. Earlier this summer, Rogers saw a man who appeared to be driving drunk. He called 911 and waited on the side of the road for police to arrive. Rogers was praised by police for his public service.

The story of the black athlete, hip hop and handguns is one that consistently gets played out over and over again. After Plaxico Burress of the New York Giants losing his career and his freedom to a gun charge, one would hope that others would have learned a lesson. But unfortunately, these stories must be lived out repeatedly, and we are all forced to watch with twisted faces as one black athlete after another works overtime to find creative ways to destroy his life. The cycle has got to die.

I am not sure if Shaun Rogers is a good man or a bad one. But then again, there's a little good and bad in all of us, and we all have the capacity to make poor decisions. I am hopeful that, at 31-years old, Mr. Rogers can grow out of his propensity to carry loaded weapons onto an aircraft. The TSA doesn't play and neither does the NFL.


Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.