On Monday at 7:19 A.M. police in Las Vegas found former Broncos wide receiver Javon Walker unconscious on Winnick and Koval, near the Summer bay Resorts, just off the strip in the desert.
Was I surprised to hear this latest round of trouble engulfing Walker? Yes.
Was I shocked to hear this latest round of trouble engulfing Walker? Not really.
You do not want to think that way but with his track record, you can't help but think that way.
The report is that the player who signed a $55 million contract with the Raiders was the victim of a robbery attempt that left his orbital bone broken. He is at Sunrise Hospital and is listed in fair condition.
The question remains, what exactly happened? If he was the victim of a robbery attempt, was it a random attack? Was the alleged hit made knowing robbing an athlete would yield money for the possible assailants?
Is it either of those? Maybe it was a reaction to Walker's behavior this weekend. According to a report, Walker was buying champagne and spraying it on patrons at one nightclub and then spent thousands more on champagne at another club. Being an athlete makes Walker a prominent person in any room, but perhaps his actions made him that much more noticeable and........arrogant? Showy? Envious to others? Really, any combination of those could be possible and could possibly be the reason for this situation.
To think the idea that an athlete isn't going to enjoy himself in the off-season is far-fetched, though, considering what has happened to Walker in the past, you would think he would be a bit more reserved.
Walker, as you recall, was seated next to Darrent Williams in a limosuine on New Year's day in 2007 when Williams was shot and killed in a drive by shooting in Denver. The image of Walker stepping out of his car later that day with a blood stained white shirt is seared into many of our minds. Other than an interview with Andrea Kremer of "Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel" on HBO, he has rarely talked about that incident. Has he finally rectified that incident in his mind? Can you possibly ever really rectify an incident with that much emotional angst? Is it fair to really expect him to do so? You have to respect Walker's feelings on this, if he doesn't want to open up, it may delay his personal healing. Then again, maybe it doesn't. The bottom line is that we do not know. We all feel like we have to know, though we don't, until Walker to, if he ever does.
Either way, this is a very serious incident and since Walker has been an enigmatic player pretty much every place he has been, inluding here in Denver for two years, finding answers to any of these queries may be hard to find out.
-"z"
