Daunte Culpepper ungifts diamond necklace from paralyzed child

Not according to Randy Moss.

 

why does he need to give the kid anything? He was nice to even let him wear it. What kind of person expects someone to actually GIVE them 75k jewerly. It's not like the person is mentally damanaged etc and doesn't understand. He is paralyzed and unless I just don't know anything about being paralyzed.. that doesnt' affect your ability to think does it? A high school person should know it wasn't a gift

 

Clearly DC was just letting the kid wear the necklace for a while. I guess if you're rich, you should just go around handing out $75,000 necklaces or you'll be perceived as an evil greedy b*stard by Sports Illustrated.

 

Daunte should have said something like "sure you can try it on" so everyone wouldn't think of it as a gift. Whatever he gets the kid will not be worth $75k or even close to $1k.

 

"you don't think there are people he knows and cares about that he'd prefer to give that money to? college friends? cousins? teachers who had an impact on him? i guarantee you he knows somebody in need and would prefer to give that money to that person instead."
-the rest of my above post...that you never quoted.

no he doesn't need a vehicle more than a kid who is paralized...but he probably knows somebody that he actually cares about.

 

yeah, i do...but i'd rather use that sympathetic part of my heart for the paralized people that aren't like this one in particular. it's not about him being paralized...it's about him being rude. it's like he thinks the world owes him or something.

oh...and btw: nice job of making a biased title..."child" draws more sympathy than saying it how it is...a senior in HS.

 

Whatever he gets the kid should be appreciated (what a novel concept!), not expected or frowned upon because it's less than $75,000.

 

First, he DE-gifted. Then, he RE-gifted.

Damn Whatley!

 

what bothers me about this is how biased the writer of the article states the "facts"...clearly he wanted a story that grabs attention but how can you write stuff so slanted just to trick people in thinkin Culpepper is a selfish person??? i know thats just life but it bugs me

 

Amazingly, no one has wondered why he was wearing such (I would assume huge) bling bling at an awards ceremony.

What ever happened to wearing a suit and tie? What, is he triyng to pull and Eric Crouch?

 

why is it his responsibility to do anything for that kid? 50 grand might not be anything to a man with his money but since when do rich people need to go handing out college tuition to every person they see? also, i don't know anything about culpepper but maybe he has given his share to charity or helped out another kid. you don't know.

 

I don't know, it doesn't look that gawdy.

 

it says teen...no?...but sorry, my bad. not trying to create any bad blood - just a different perspective.

 

first of all, eric crouch couldn't afford that kind of bling.



secondly, while i think it would be great if rich people gave away a ton of money:

a. they don't have to

b. we have no idea if daunte gives away a lot of money every year. it's not as if this was his one chance this year to give something to someone and he said "nah, i'll pass."

c. yeah it may not be that much to daunte, but it's still $75K. what's he supposed to do, walk around with $75,000 checks in his pocket and hand them out to everyone who looks unfortunate?


as for this incident, it appears no good deed goes unpunished. it seems he just wanted to be nice and let him have the jewelry to wear for a while and now he looks like a bad guy who stole a gift from a paralyzed guy. it seems like daunte's a pretty nice guy from everything i've seen and probably feels bad about how it went down so i wouldn't be surprised if he still gives the guy something nice, but he certainly doesn't have to match $75K to not look bad.

 

Eric Crouch, you've just won this prestigious award, how do you feel?

Crouch in best Fonzy voice: HEEYYY!!!!!!!

 

I don't think the guy should have assumed that he was giving the necklaces to him in the first place. Daunte was just trying to be a nice guy and play along with the guy (who had the nerve to ask for the "ice"). If someone handed me or my kid (if I had one) a 75K piece of jewelry I think my first reaction might be to respectfully not accept it. That's just me though.

Even so, you'd think the guy and his family would have made a statement already (or have they?) saying it was just a big mistake and its no big deal.

Like some mentioned here, Daunte is not obligated to do anything for this kid. If he choose to do something nice I'm sure helping out with medical bills or something would be more helpful. Sounds like the guy's parents weren't even thinking of getting any usefulness out of it. What good is a 75k necklace gonna do you sitting in a safe?

 

The apparent "real" story:

http://www.startribune.com/stories/503/5221966.html

JACKSONVILLE, FLA. -- This is what happens when there is too much media and not enough stories.

One of the NFL's most genuine and kind players carried out a genuinely kind act Wednesday. And what did Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper get for his thoughtfulness?

National scorn, thanks to an Associated Press reporter who misinterpreted the scene and never bothered to follow up with the key players.

Here's what happened: While participating in a news conference Wednesday, Culpepper fielded an awkward question from a paralyzed 17-year-old boy. "Hey Daunte," said J.T. Townsend. "Can I get some ice?" -- a reference to the $100,000, diamond-encrusted necklace around Culpepper's neck.

With cameras rolling, Culpepper walked over to Townsend and thrilled him by hanging the necklace around his neck. Later, Culpepper sought out Townsend and put the chain back on. At Culpepper's request, Townsend's parents wrote down his address and contact information. Culpepper promised to send him gifts and memorabilia.

We were standing at Culpepper's side when the transaction took place. There was no animosity, no hurt feelings and no accusations of impropriety -- only thank-yous from Townsend, his parents and a doctor nearby.

The AP version of the story, however, in essence painted Culpepper as a spoiled athlete who "sheepishly" took away a gift from a paralyzed teenager once the cameras stopped shooting. Newspapers and Internet sites picked up the story nationally. One problem: Nothing could have been further from the truth.

Anyone who has met Culpepper knows he wears the necklace every day. He has for years. Garish as it might be -- its main ornament is a 6-inch hot pepper -- it carries sentimental and personal value. Since when is anyone -- athlete, actor, politician or average schmoe -- obligated to hand over personal possessions permanently when someone asks? Or should Culpepper have shot down the request and embarrassed Townsend on television?

If that's your story, then the next time someone asks you for your wedding ring or a sweater your grandmother knitted, you better cough it up. Or else find some real news to write about.

 

$75,000 necklace?!

I'd buy like a huge ass TV

 

Uh huh. I had a feeling that's what really went down. Turns out even the kids parents were needlessly made to look bad in the original article.

And sports writers wonder why some pro athletes won't talk to them.