The story has to be true because no one could make it up.
Richard King, a senior at West Point, soon to be a second lieutenant in the United States Army and cornerback for the West Point Cadets, is standing "too close" to R & B star Patti Labelle's luggage at baggage claims. Not too close to Patti. He's standing too close to her expensive luggage.
He's oblivious, talking on a cell phone, when Ms. LaBelle's body guards beat him, drawing blood, pushing into a concrete pillar. King is carried onto a stretcher, whisked off to the hospital. He has a nasty concussion.
Two things are wrong with this:
(a) Football players are supposed to get beat up on the football field, not at baggage claims.
(b) Nobody should have to fear body guard police at the airport. We have enough on our plate with the terrorists.
Ms. LaBelle's staff believe alcohol was involved, that Mr. King was inebriated. That's the only predictable part of the story. He denies it is true.
It's all on the surveillance tape.
Generally the subjects on this blog are perpetrators of some sort of violence or they think they're above the law, or don't respect someone. If we're writing about it here, it's the indignity that matters.
We would have expected more from an R & B star, wait patiently for more details to come. Meanwhile, Mr. King won't be a second lieutenant any time soon, and he certainly won't be playing football.
And that, frankly, shouldn't have happened.
Video clip favors King's version of the story. What was King's blood alcohol reading at the emergency room? History of alcohol abuse? These don't excuse goonish behavior by the body guards, but might explain the administrative actions taken by USMA.
ReplyDeleteThe saddest part when you watch the video is that he wasn't standing next to Mz LaBelle's bags. The bodyguard put the bags next to King and when Mz LaBelle freaked out, they beat the guy down. How can anyone can respect this "Lady",her thugs or the Houston police who helped her screw up this poor guys life is beyond me. If they can't say I'm Sorry,with this video going public, they're pathetic.
ReplyDeleteChicago guy
The video is disgusting, I sincerely hope Cadet King gets justice.
ReplyDeleteThis should be about Cadet King anymore. This should be about fighting injustice. Apparently West Point is not backing down and nothing is being done by the Houston Police.
ReplyDeleteThe video evidence is clear. The cadet was on the phone the entire time, and was punched. LaBelle's guards are lucky this was just a cadet, and not an infantry soldier, or that big guy would have had his face smashed in the concrete. Unfortunately people would have howled racism, which is asinine. Point’s motto is, “Duty, Honor, Country!” Let’s hope General Rapp has the intestinal fortitude to do what is right in the face of overwhelming evidence that should have cleared this cadet’s name.