Prince of Thieves

Drug dealing is easy money in the hood. Some people make a decent living off of selling nickel and dime bags of weed on the block. In some areas, the "little guy" is well aware that the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) and local police force isn't looking to put him away. He knows that he's low on the food chain. The "big boss" is who they're after. The lone drawback to being a small-time street peddler is that it's nearly impossible to get rich that way. As a result, some of these guys often attempt much bigger heists in an attempt to cash in on a bigger payday.

On the same day that a detective called me about a player (re: Doedoe) being sought for questioning related to an unmasked, unarmed robbery in broad daylight, Peanut decided to spill his guts about some dirt from his past. I had brought the team together to address the police investigation, and he seemed pensive throughout. It was an old fashioned pep talk about life. I lectured about all of them being in a position to walk a brighter path. I used examples of past players who went from living a life of hopelessness to one filled with new and exciting opportunities. Peanut was the most attentive guy in the room. His eyes revealed a young man who wanted to escape a troubled past.

Peanut came to my office afterwards to talk. He needed to get something out badly. As the biggest guy on our team (6'3, 230 lbs) he suddenly seemed like a teddy bear. I felt his emotion before he even spoke.

Peanut: Tell me. What do you really, like, think a me?
Me: I think you're a good guy. You have some learning disabilities that you're embarassed about, but that's nothing new to me.
Peanut: (stuttering)You tttthink I'm a bad guy?
Me: I think you've done some dirt, but you're not a bad person from what I've seen.
Peanut: (stuttering) So, I dddon't sssseem like a bad guy?
Me: Nah man. You're Peanut, the guy who forgets to tie his shoes sometimes before stepping on the court.
Peanut: I dddon't think you'd believe me if I tttold you something.
Me: What's up?
Peanut: I'm a awful person. You dddon't know me. Nnnobody does. Eeeeven my parents don't know me.
Me: what makes you so bad?
Peanut: See. It's hard ffffor me to sssay this because I feel sssso bad about it.
Me: did you kill somebody?
Peanut (silence): Nah. I mean, I don't tttthink so. I don't sssstick around to find out.
Me: What? I don't understand.
Peanut: I try to ggget jobs. Nobody wanna hire me. I don't wanna work in no fffactory and make nnnothing like my dad so I do things for money.
Me: Like what?
Peanut: I, like, sssold drugs. I bbbroke into, like, homes to rob people wit money and stuff.
Me: Seriously. Have you ever killed anybody?
Peanut: If you're driving by and shooting, you don't stop to see if you've hit somebody. You just kkkeep going.