While talking about the Mike Vick saga again, a friend and I started to consider if there were any other bigger black collapses. We came up with an intriguing list of the 15 greatest falls from black grace. To make the list, you either lost a lot of money, did something mad stupid, ended up in jail or something along similar lines.
There are a few Joneses and Barrys, a couple of Marions and Roberts, the Godfather of Soul, the self-proclaimed King of R&B and far too many Mikes. But first we'll start with the dishonorable mentions.
No. 14: James Brown – The Godfather of Soul had a few falls from grace, a few spats with drugs and the law. But most recently his body lay in house for an extended period of time as his family members struggled about what to do with it because he didn’t redo his will.
No. 13: Marion Jones - Once considered the fast woman in the world, we learned why she was just that in federal indictments alleging she used performance-enhancing drugs. Her then-husband CJ Hunter was suspended from the track for using drugs, and she probably was right there with him. She then went on to date and birth a child with sprinter Tim Montgomery, who also succumbed to steroid use and scandal. Oh, yeah, Marion also lost all of her money and had to sell three properties including her mom’s crib to raise cash.
No. 12: Ron Isley – Mr. Biggz evaded paying his taxes since before he made “Between the Sheets.” He also took his dead brother’s money. Ron also recorded and performed a song written by R. Kelly named “Contagious.” The lyrics are disgusting if you really listen to them. Your contagious/touch me baby/give me what you’ve got. Really?
No. 11: MC Hammer – Helped run the Oakland Athletics as a child, but didn’t learn about money management from owner Charlie Finley. Hammer blew up, put everybody on the payroll and went bankrupt.
No. 10: Marion Barry – “The bitch set me up.” Former District of Columbia Mayor was caught with crack cocaine and a woman in a hotel room in 1990 while still in office. He stepped down as Mayor but was re-elected in 1995. We are a forgiving nation. There’s hope Mike Vick.
No. 9: Barry Bonds – “Accused” of using performance-enhancing drugs to improve his play on the baseball field even though he was already a lock for the Hall of Fame. This happened under Baseball Owners and Bud Selig watch, and they didn’t disapprove. Broke sports most hallowed record, the home run record, this summer.
No. 8: Master P – In 1999, he was worth more than $350 million. In 2004, he filed for bankruptcy. Three-hundred and fifty-million plus. Seriously? But he’s bankrolling off of Lil Romeo still.
No. 7: Condoleezza Rice – She’s smart as can be and an accomplished pianist, but she is also George W. Bush’s No. 1 go-getta. Need I say more?
No. 6: Whitney Houston/Bobby Brown – Their fates are tied together. He started falling before he reached his peak (and he did peak with the Don’t Be Cruel album), and when they got married, he brought her down with him. She called him the King of R&B. Then the television show. Drugs marriage, and coonery are a lethal mix.
No. 5: Michael Jackson – Even if he didn’t do anything to that little boy, Mike is mad crazy. Funny thing about him is that if he announced and booked a 30-city US tour, it would sell out in a week, and grown women would still pass out.
No. 4: Robert Kelly – What we said about Mike is almost true with Kells. Most of have seen what “the person alleged to be Robert Kelly” did in those tapes to that girl who looked a little to young to be “ready to go all the way.” But we still bump his music like we did back in 1992 when Twelve Play first dropped.
No. 3: Mike Vick – Stands to lose over $100 million in salary and endorsements because of his dogfighting scandal. Will likely be spend a year in jail, and be suspended for the next two NFL seasons.
No. 2: Mike Tyson – Got his ass whooped by Buster Douglas. Was convicted of rape. He lost hundreds of millions of dollars because of it. Let’s not forget that he bit a chunk of Evander Holyfield’s ear off, told Lennox Lewis he wanted to eat his children and then tattooed half of his face.
No. 1: OJ Simpson – Do I really need to go here?
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