The real tragedy is Williams' murder was preventable

The LA Daily News starts out well, naming Darrent Williams' murder as such in the first sentence (as opposed to a "shooting,"etc.) However, the rest of the article is counterproductive, focusing on sadness and tragedy. It's certainly both of these, but the article might've advanced the human condition instead of encouraging further regression. The writer, Kevin Modesti, twists himself all around and finally decides it's a handgun problem. Among other things, he has a detail missing present in the AP story that might help someone avoid murder in the future. Why not put the facts out there if they're available? LA Daily News version:

• "The death of Williams, a 24-year-old cornerback for the Denver Broncos, in a drive-by shooting that injured two other limo passengers as they left a downtown Denver club early Monday morning, is a tragedy. Given Williams' line of work, the fact Broncos teammate Javon Walker was a blood-splattered fellow passenger and the fact they were leaving a combined New Year's party and birthday party for the Denver Nuggets' Kenyon Martin, there certainly is a sports theme.

  The NFL and NBA already are making this a cautionary tale about the need for professional athletes to be careful in public.

  But this isn't a sports tragedy. It's an American tragedy. It's a human tragedy.

  It's chilling to think what might lie ahead if gun violence needed only two hours to claim its first young athlete in 2007."

First, the paper blurs the crime by calling it a "drive-by shooting," a term better reserved for shootings about which there is no other information. Not the case here. 2nd, the AP reports Williams' uncle saying there was another or additional reason he was at the nightclub:

• "Williams' uncle, Demond Williams, said the cornerback was at the club to promote a rap group for his fledgling independent recording label, Ryno Entertainment." (AP report)

The AP story adds the passive statement, "The gathering at the club in downtown Denver also was billed as a birthday party for Denver Nuggets star Kenyon Martin, who has said he and other Nuggets left the club before any trouble arose." And elsewhere in the article,

• "Police also aren't saying whether they know the motive for the slaying but have said there was a disturbance at a nightclub where Williams attended a New Year's Eve party shortly before he was killed. Investigators also are reviewing surveillance video from the club and footage from traffic cameras."

(Nevertheless, the AP story which ran in the NY Times succumbed to the more politically correct language in their opening sentence, "a New Year's Day drive-by shooting that killed Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams." The qualifier "New Year's Day" is interesting, but again they detach a human being from the criminal act, saying the "shooting that killed" Williams, a passive way to express the truth. But, they do get credit for admitting in the opening that Williams was in fact killed).

• And the LA Daily News' Modesti says it's an American tragedy, and how chilling for us, because what must lie ahead for us? What are we left with from this article but the choice to stay in our house and never come out. Therefore, we are all defenseless 3 year olds. What a waste of an article.

Articles referenced from the LA Daily News, 1/3/07, "Williams' Death Frightening Reminder of Reality" by Kevin Modesti. And, from the NY Times, 1/4/07, "Police Impound Vehicle in Williams Case," AP story, AP Sports Writer Pat Graham and Associated Press writer Don Mitchell in Denver contributed to the report.

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