For all the negative press we as a nation give to our football players for visiting the corner of Roethlisberger and Vick, there are so many stories that rarely see the light of day chronicling the good, selfless and nearly heroic actions that some of these players display in their lives. Even when these stories are published, they will never be followed with the media frenzy that follows a scandal. There is, it seems, no room for the second telling of a positive tale in today's media. It is not the media's fault either. The fact is that a train wreck will always be more interesting in the long term than a happy ending.
But when a player goes to the selfless lengths that Tandon Doss did last Thursday night merely hours before he played in the Ravens second Preseason game, it really brings into perspective that the NFL is not a league of predatory vandals and thugs. Doss was eating at a Baltimore burger joint called "Five Guys" when he witnessed a fight break out. The altercation started when two men jumped one man and cut him with a knife. Tandon Doss did not hesitate to jump in and protect the outnumbered man from further harm while convincing the two assailants that they didn't want to continue the attack with him there. It is worth noting that most stabbings in the US include an injured bystander that intervened to dissolve the conflict. Tandon has been taking fire from fans on Twitter for taking such a risk. Doss actually responded to one of them saying "Idc wat day it is I'm not gunna sit there and let someone get jumped idk where ur from but we don't do that in Indy."
It probably isn't smart to jump on a live grenade to save another life either, but it is at least a selfless act. Tandon Doss did a great thing Thursday... End of story. Figuratively only, I hope.
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