Defining DeSean

So yesterday I drove I-95 from Virginia to Trenton, NJ, and like any responsible driver I spent at least a few minutes snapping pictures out the window while moving 55mph in the middle of a pack of cars. My shot of the Linc was really crappy, but it was good enough to catch this banner featuring DeSean Jackson.*

And today comes news that the Eagles have released Jackson amid concerns about his connections with "reputed Los Angeles street gang members who have been connected to two homicides since 2010."

I remember Jackson from his days at Cal as a guy who was incredible against the Sac States and disappeared against the USCs (you can check my recollection if you wish--it's at the least an inconsistent college career), and one whose draft spot struck me at the time as way out of whack with his real production. My memory aside, he's had a fairly productive career, and continues to be spectacular at times, despite some bone-head on-field moves earlier in his career.

I never thought of him as a bad guy, just a knucklehead with a penchant for dumb celebrations (and he's far from alone in being a knucklehead or worse--this is obviously a team that rostered Mike Vick and Riley Cooper last year, too). Now, do possible associations with gang members make him a bad guy? Not in and of themselves, I don't think; he's not necessarily complicit in whatever those guys may have done. He's from Long Beach, and these may be people he grew up with and maintains a relationship with because of those roots.

But you have to question his judgement in choosing to do so, especially given some of the questions surrounding guys like Marvin Harrison, and what we're discovering about Aaron Hernandez. I realize it's hard to cut ties, leave friends, lose credibility with people you like/respect (however much that like/respect is misguided), etc. But you have to wonder if some of those earlier mistakes were just immaturity, or signs of some more fundamental  problems in the guy's decision-making, or glimpses of a more nefarious character.

Since 'tis the season: I think NFL teams are absolutely ridiculous in some of their draft preparation and questions, and in the conclusions they arrive at as a result of their research, but I suppose when you're playing with millions of dollars you're looking for any signs you can find, and maybe those signs of immaturity and questionable choices are enough. And maybe Jackson's were enough to define him.

*Yes, I really was driving 55 with other cars nearby. But I also was on a straight section of road, holding up a camera without looking through the viewfinder to see where it was pointing, and using the burst mode to take about 20 pictures of which three were not completely useless/blocked/etc. So it was a questionable decision, but not straight-up stupid.