Image courtesy Associated Press 

On Sunday, January 15th, 21-year-old Darius Miles, a Junior on the Division 1 University of Alabama basketball team was involved in a shooting in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, home of the college. Jamea Jonae Harris was the 23-year-old woman, and mother, who was killed as a result of this shooting. At least 11 shots were fired that can be heard in video authenticated by police. The shooting is still under investigation and many facts are unknown or have not been released by law enforcement authorities. However, Miles has been arrested and charged with capital murder. 

No motive has been identified either but a bigger question or questions may need to be addressed: Why do too many elite athletes become involved in unlawful, dangerous, or violent behavior? By cheering them on and putting them on pedestals from a young age, does society bear some responsibility for what happens when some athletes act out as though they are above the consequences that the rest of us have to deal with? The shooting may have started as a minor altercation, but it resulted in the end of a promising college basketball player’s career and the end of another person’s life.