According to Chicago Bears defensive end David Bass, who grew up about six miles from where Michael Brown was fatally shot by police, Ferguson was a “gasoline-soaked woodpile just waiting for a spark.”
First of all, Bass says that Ferguson isn’t a bad place to grow up and the demographics have been changing for some time: “It’s not the east side, with the gang violence and the killing. Ferguson used to be all white, but blacks from all over town started moving out of poorer neighborhoods into north county areas like Ferguson. There’s a lot of diversity now, with white and black people living side by side. The police stayed white, though.”
Bass became jaded about Ferguson police based on an incident that occurred when he was 15-years-old. He and his brother got picked up by a friend who was just given a new car by his mother. The three headed off to a cultural center known as The Loop. He recounted to MMBQ: “When we parked there were police behind us, and next thing you know, there are about 10 police cars surrounding us. They’re screaming, ‘Stay in the car! Keep your hands up! Hand over your IDs.’ People are starting to gather to watch. They took 45 minutes searching the car while we sat on the sidewalk.”
Police later claimed that three black males had robbed a store in the Loop and were driving the same model car. It seemed to Bass like nothing more than a harassment episode. “Tell me this: If we robbed the store, why would we go back and park in The Loop,” Bass told Sports Illustrated’s MMQB.com.
Moreover, according to the former Missouri Western standout, police harassment in the St. Louis area accelerated in his adulthood. “When I go home I get pulled over just because,” Bass says, adding, “and they’ll say, ‘We’re doing random checks,’ which is against the law. Or they say, there was a theft and the getaway car was like my black Durango. When they don’t know who you are, all you are is black. They don’t know that I graduated from college, or that I’m in the NFL.” Bass points out that “when they find that out, they want to stop and have a conversation.”
MMQB asked Bass what his thoughts were about the incendiary events taking place in Ferguson. The 2013 seventh-round draft choice of the Oakland Raiders said, “I can’t sit here and justify Michael Brown’s actions, because I don’t know what he did leading up to his death. But I know that police cannot shoot unarmed men, and the reason you have the violent reaction from the community is the violent, aggressive, and disrespectful way policing is done in the St. Louis area.”
Bass also said that he doesn’t approve of the rioting and disturbing looting that has transpired over the last week. “They trashed the Quik Trip, Walmart, Target, Foot Locker. They’re robbing people like it’s a way out in this time of crisis, but it’s really a sign of weakness and impatience, and for a lot of people it justifies the way we’re being harassed and profiled,” he lamented.
In the face of all the unrest, the St. Louis Rams told MMQB.com that they provided 75 free tickets for Saturday’s game against the Green Bay Packers to three high school teams in the local area to help them get their minds off the recent unsettling events. “In light of everything going on, it just kind of hit me,” said Rams fan development manager Kyle Eversgerd. “I can’t imagine, with all that stuff going on, how tough it must be to practice. We were able to get them away from it all.”
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