Chris Johnson...good player/good man

[vmax]

He has my respect and best wishes...

 

 

Baltimore Ravens defensive back Chris Johnson, as he has done before, recently spoke at a shelter for women victims of domestic violence. It was an interesting scene. Most speakers who share their inspirational stories are women. Johnson is a 6-foot-1, 200-pound professional football player. Yes, unusual, but so is Johnson's tale of horror, sadness, heroism and perseverance.

Johnson has told his story to women's shelters, high schools and churches. Small groups, larger groups. He has done this for many months now, mostly unnoticed by the media or general public. He has done it without question. He has done it without a pat on the back.

His story begins not so long ago, in December 2011, when Johnson was with the Raiders. He was watching game film in the team facility when he got a text from his mother. It was three words:

"He shot her."

 

The person shot was Johnson's sister, Jennifer. She had been estranged from her boyfriend, Eugene Esters. Esters and Jennifer, police say, got into an argument in the parking lot of Jennifer's Fort Worth, Texas, apartment complex because he wanted to see the couple's 2½-year-old daughter. Esters shot Jennifer several times, according to police. She was transferred to a hospital and later pronounced dead.

Johnson's mother, Della Johnson, was also shot, but survived her wounds. Esters faced charges of capital murder and attempted murder.

 

It is in those moments, when a sister is shot dead, and her children are without their mother, and their father is the alleged killer, that if Johnson wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear, no one would have questioned why.

Instead, something extraordinary happened. Johnson asked for his release from the Raiders. He then took in his sister's two children, 14-year-old Sidney and 3-year-old Solia. They joined Johnson's children Chris Jr., Bran and Krissy.

Instead of horror, a new future was created for Johnson and his children. All of them. A better future.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/22172302/family-tragedy-inspires-ravens-johnson-to-fight-domestic-violence

[oldno82]

Powerful story!