Father of Donald Driver Beaten By Police, Taken to Hospital

The father of Packers’ Pro Bowl wide receiver Donald Driver was beaten by Houston Police officers following his arrest for outstanding traffic warrants on Monday morning.

Martin Driver, Jr. was taken into police custody and was declared “unresponsive” upon being admitted to jail. Shortly after, he was then taken to a nearby hospital where he remains unable to speak due to internal bleeding in his brain as a result of blunt force trauma.

This story is another horrific and despicable example of police brutality as well the dangers that can befall the private lives of professional athletes. According to the Driver family, who called a press conference following Martin Driver’s explanation of this incident in written notes at the hospital, the elder Driver was beaten by police offers who he claims knew both him and his son Donald personally. In Martin Driver’s written description of the event, he was beaten by the officers in question and forced to swallow something that would “take him to see Jesus.”

Few additional details have come to the surface considering Driver’s condition or the police assault. The officers involved are still on the active duty, pending an investigation.

This incident is a frightening glimpse into the public lives that athletes live in our society. Following the tragic death of Sean Taylor, and the string of robberies and beatings of other professional athletes, the awareness of the dangers that confront professional athletes has come to the forefront of sports reporting. Even this week, ESPN ran a story that interviewed NFL players about how their lives have changed in the last year since Sean Taylor’s murder. The tragic beating of Martin Driver, however, has not been carried by ESPN (Editor’s Note: as of 11:00 am ET), even though it has been published by the Associated Press which is ESPN’s news source.

As is often the case, the media can have a profound impact on how justice in this country is served. Public awareness of an incident can help family members seek justice in even the most dire of cases. As we are all aware, police brutality cases carry with them a certain sense of fighting an uphill battle when you or your loved ones are the victims. The Drivers came forward in a press conference, requesting that the accused officers be taken off the street, but the only story that seems fit to publish is that Donald Driver has been excused from practice and that he intends to play.

I can understand not running the story out of respect for the privacy of the Driver family. But if they came forward in a press conference then they are obviously seeking justice. Unfortunately, ESPN isn’t listening.

Tags: donald driver, Green Bay Packers, NFL

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