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ODB GETS OOC???
New York Giants vs. the Carolina Panthers in Week 15 of the 2015-16 NFL season won’t be forgotten anytime soon. It was a game filled with tremendous ups and downs, where moments of sheer excitement and sadness were mixed with melees and madness.
For all intents and purposes, the marquee match-up of Odell Beckham Jr. vs. Josh Norman actually promoted the sport of MMA more than Football. While a plethora of lessons were learned on Sunday, its obvious that a heavy price will also need to be paid.
“What could we have possibly learned from this game?”
1. Every team needs a leader
2. Every rule has an exception
3. Everyone isn’t treated equally
4. Perception is reality
Odell Beckham Jr. took a very public step backwards to the early stages of his maturity for all the world to see. He allowed his emotions to get the best of him and was completely out of control throughout the game.
There was a lack of leadership on every level imaginable. The failure of a teammate, coach or referee to reel him in was glaringly obvious. As with most organizations, this lack of leadership lead to chaos, which was no different here.
The antics of both players caused many to search for the NFL rule-book to determine if the rules of engagement had mysteriously changed. They continuously grabbed each other’s facemasks, tossed each other to the ground, and engaged in extracurricular physicality at every turn.
The icing on the cake was served up by ODB when he purposely launched himself into Norman’s head. Yes, he did that in a sport that is currently under the microscope for head trauma!
As we’ve see in plenty of work environments, rules are overlooked when the act of breaking them has a positive affect on the bottom line, and this was probably the highest rated game of the weekend. Those above the rules tend to be the stars of their teams and are accustomed to preferential treatment. In a perfect world, everyone should be treated equally, but we all know what a cruel joke that is. Subconsciously (or consciously) we all have an idea of what we’re able to get away with in comparison to our peers. The rainmakers get a slap on the wrist while the rest us are shown the door. That’s just the harsh truth.
The notion that perception is reality is also at play here. You may have experienced a negative incident in your life that overshadows your body of work and requires years to recover and repair. Fortunately, most of us have the luxury of changing that perception in ways not available to a sports star in the media capital of the world.
By all accounts ODB was the next athlete to name your children after, but after one bad day in the office we’re calling for his expulsion??? Lighten up everybody.
His punishment is sure to come (thanks to the public outcry) and he should be given the chance to redeem himself, just like any other twenty three year old.
Almost every year for the past 6 years and on the same day, I’ve posted the same pic of me in the hospital during my temporary and untimely demise in 2015. A few weeks after I was back to “normal”, I asked Eric “Why’d you take the pics?” And he said, “I knew you would want to write about it if you lived.” Eric was right. Eric was often right and Eric always had my best interest at heart. I am going to miss my friend.
You ever meet someone and become friends immediately?! Well this was not the case with Eric. Before he was my manager at Morgan Stanley, I would often see this 6’4″, giant white guy walk up to the only black woman at work, say something then walk away without any hint of human emotion. Naturally I thought he was a jerk until I asked her “Yo, is that dude bothering you?” She laughed and proceeded to tell me he was a great person, which I ultimately got to experience first hand. Little did I know this Italian from Staten Island was more Brooklyn than most Brooklynites.
Eric was not with the shits!! If there were ever someone who lived their life in direct, honest and no uncertain terms, that would be Eric. He would ask me questions at work like “Why are the other consultants making more money than you?” I knew the answer to that question and so did he. Eric then proceeded to increase my salary by 15K. After arguing with all our managers that “You need to hire Alfred!”, they eventually did 1 year prior to the 2015 incident. In the hospital, one of my friends asked me, “What if you didn’t have health insurance when this happened?” I would be in debt for the rest of my life is the obvious answer. I still am in debt for the rest of my life but at least, it is to those who made sure I had a more enjoyable life and for that, I will gladly repay.
My mom loved to tell me the story of how she met Eric. After they told her I was going to be in the ICU for some time, she told the doctor “Well I’m not going anywhere.” She then hears a voice from that back of the room that says “Well I’m not going anywhere either!” That was Eric and in true form, he was at that hospital every single day until I was discharged.
Eric passed away in December 2021 of stage 4 cancer. After feeling faint on his way to my bbq, he went to get checked out and was diagnosed. During the past 5 years, Eric lost his mom, twin brother and dad. I can’t even begin to imagine what that must have felt like but I’m glad that pain he was feeling is no more.
From being my manager to my business partner, writer, book editor, artistic director, and most importantly, my friend, I am going to miss you MC Krispy E a.k.a “Enrique Pollazo!” And although you told me Enrique means Henry in Spanish and not Eric, it was too late!
Sidebar. The day I was discharged, while everyone was deciding what was best for me, no one had remembered that I would need clothes in order to leave the hospital. Eric shows up (unasked) with all the clothes I had on the day I coded, laundered and ready to go. I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve friends like this but i need to keep doing it! Sidebar complete.
Rest in Peace Eric. “Be Good.”
I had the distinct pleasure of participating in a panel discussion on writing your first book, presented by the Harlem chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. Alongside Jim St. Germain, Author – A Stone of Hope: A Memoir and Dr. Keneshia Nicole Grant, Author – The Great Migration and the Democratic Party: Black Voters and the Realignment of American Politics in the 20th Century. We opined on pain points, benefits and strategies regarding our inaugural voyages into authorship. Feel free to watch for your self and I hope this provides some insight to all those looking to make the same voyage. Enjoy!
