Brian Banks: A dream deferred, signs with Atlanta Falcons

Photo from Michael J. Lewis
Brian Banks on the football field

Remember the story of Brian Banks? He was a high school student falsely accused of rape years ago. His pitiful attorney encouraged him to take a plea deal that landed him in prison and on the sex offenders list. At the time he was just a few steps away from entering USC as a linebacker.

Fast forward. His accuser recanted her story, and he was freed. But what about his dreams of becoming a football player in the NFL...


What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load. Or does it explode?
-- Langston Hughes

From MSN.FoxSports.com

There will be roughly 2,800 players vying for roster spots in NFL training camps.
None will have a more inspirational story than linebacker Brian Banks.

Banks — who spent a decade trying to exonerate himself for a crime he didn’t commit — was signed Wednesday as a free agent by the Atlanta Falcons.

“I can’t believe this is happening. It’s surreal,” Banks said on a conference call with NFL media. “I want to jump up and go crazy. It’s such a big deal.

“This is the biggest accomplishment besides getting my life and freedom back. But it’s also just the beginning.”

More from the Falcons: http://www.atlantafalcons.com/news/article-1/Falcons-Sign-LB-Brian-Banks/8ef31f22-88e7-4f18-a177-6fadd2400c50


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