Choice of What's Next Up to Whitner

By Ch2 Sports Director Ed Kilgore

So which story is it, Donte?

After spending the night in a Cleveland jail, Bills safety Donte Whitner told Cleveland tv station WOIO-TV "nothing really happened...I'm innocent." Asked if he thought police were justified to subdue him with a Taser gun, Whitner replied "absolutely not", and added "we're going to sue the Cleveland Police".

On the other hand, as exhibit B I guess we can call it, we have Cleveland PD Lt. Thomas Stacho, who says "Whitner tried to enter an area where fights were in progress....Whitner became aggressive...started swinging his arms in an aggressive manner...broke free and took a fighting stance". Police then Tasered Whitner to subdue him and cuff him.

Whitner was in the popular House of Blues club when a "near riot" began escalating in front around 3 a.m. Saturday morning, and Whitner was reportedly trying to get through police to help a friend who was involved in the melee. Admirable maybe, but not a good choice in this case.

The tie-breaker though, goes to the Cleveland PD on a follow up statement from Whitner's attorney Neil Cornrich, which reads "I regret the incident...it is not how I wish to conduct myself and I apologize to all those involved".

Since you can't have it both ways, it certainly appears safe to conclude Whitner isn't disagreeing with the police account of what happened, if the statement from his lawyer is to be believed over Whitner's on camera comments.

Whitner didn't make a mistake here, and I hope parents trying to explain why the Buffalo Bills football players seem to be running afowl of the law all over the place these days, will make the distinction between mistakes and choices.

A mistake, is having a ticket in seat 9, row 41 of section 135, and then sitting in that seat in row 136. It happens all the time at sporting events, concerts, or on airplanes.

Whitner, on the other hand, made a choice, and a bad one even if it turns out he sues and wins. It simply isn't a good choice to confront, in any way, an agitated or otherwise "busy" police officer when his or her attention is focused on a potentially dangerous situation. This was a CHOICE, and not a mistake, and because of that, the only way Whitner begins to repair the damage to his reputation is to be accountable. Did the police overreact with the Taser? Possibly. Did Whitner's actions, which his statement seems to admit, contribute to what happened? Uh huh.

I like Whitner personally, for what that's worth, and from what I personally witnessed recently, he has a good heart. He gave up part of his Saturday night to appear on Ch2's Kids Escaping Drugs Telethon, and asked me at one point if he could throw in two tickets for the Bills home opener. The highest bidder would sit in a luxury box with Whitner's family, and after the game, they would all get a personal tour of the lockerroom.

That little addition put another $800 into the KED program, which has saved hundreds of lives and even families. That was a GOOD choice for sure.

The statement from Whitner's agent helped, but a better choice would be for Whitner to apologize and take responsibility for his actions personally to the public, knowing police still plan to file charges against him shortly.

The choice is his.