Dallas Cowboys offensive tackle Tyron Smith wasn't thinking about any kind of street justice when pookie and ‘em showed up at his doorstep begging for cash. The 21-year-old from Los Angeles called the cops after five of his siblings came to his home to “harass and torment” him “in the pursuit of collecting financial gain.” This is all after Smith, who signed a four-year, $12.5 million contract, had already given his family a substantial amount of his newfound wealth.
The legal matters don’t end there. Smith also took out an order of protection against his mother and stepfather and has even had a family member removed from training camp for an unknown reason.
Your first reaction to Smith’s 911 call is probably that it’s rather harsh. No one ever wants to call the authorities on their own flesh and blood. The possibility of what may happen to them in jail (especially if they have priors) supersedes what issues you may be having with them. Family matters are just that, family matters, and should be handled internally.
But, if you go back and watch the 30 for 30 documentary Broke, you’ll probably think Smith made the right move by involving the cops. Family members and entourages have wrung too many athletes dry without them ever putting up a fight. Bart Scott could have used some help from the po-po when he was pressured by family to pay the mortgages on 24 homes. Vince Young could have used a protection order against himself when he spent thousands at a T.G.I. Fridays. The story of money squandered by young athletes is nothing new, yet it seems only a small amount of them take heed.
Kudos to Smith, who must have saw the documentary or read Young’s tale and decided he was not going to be the next athlete-gone-broke-story. He may have broken the hood code by involving the police but guess what — he’s not in the hood, anymore. He’s a millionaire. He can find a way to stay connected to his people but they don’t have to be on his tax returns. Like Nas said “Get money, leave the beef alone slowly.”
Smith’s bank accounts got bank accounts now and he has to leave the hood ways alone, unless that’s where he wants to end up.
