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Boris
02-03-2005, 01:07 PM
IMO this was more obnoxious than the Randy Moss moon dance.
At a big awards ceremony Culpepper gives his jewelry to some kid who just got paralyzed. Then after everything is over he goes over and asks for it back; like he used this kid to show that Daunte is a saint. But really he's just a fraud.

fake (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=1982747)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Daunte Culpepper showed off his scrambling ability Wednesday -- in a crowded convention center ballroom.

The Minnesota Vikings quarterback presented a paralyzed high school football player two diamond necklaces worth about $75,000 during an NFL awards ceremony, but then awkwardly asked for them back after it was finished.

The apparent gift prompted a mother to cry, a father to think about buying a safe to store it and Culpepper to find a way out of the mess.

"I'll get him something else," Culpepper said sheepishly.

The confusion began at the FedEx ground and air player of the year honors, where finalists Culpepper, Peyton Manning, Shaun Alexander and Curtis Martin were on stage for the announcement.

When the master of ceremonies opened the floor for questions, Jerry Townsend spoke up from his wheelchair in the front row.

"Hey Daunte, can I get some of that ice?" he said in a low voice, referring to the two sparkling necklaces hanging around Culpepper's neck.

Culpepper jumped up, pulled them off and brought them over to Townsend, a senior defensive back at Jacksonville Episcopal High School who was paralyzed from the neck down while making a tackle in October.

Townsend spent the last four months in various hospitals and was released Wednesday -- just in time to go to the Super Bowl event.

After Culpepper put the necklaces around Townsend's neck, his mother started to cry. His father talked about needing to get a safe for the expensive jewelry.

Culpepper, meanwhile, went back to his seat and finished the awards ceremony (Manning won the air award, and Martin won the ground one). After it was over, Culpepper patiently answered dozens of questions while keeping a close eye on his jewelry across the room.

One of the diamond-laced necklaces was the No. 11, Culpepper's jersey number, and the other was a large pepper (for Culpepper).

"Where's that kid at? I've got to get my stuff back," Culpepper said.

Culpepper then walked over to the Townsends and asked them to write down their address so he could send them something else. Culpepper wasn't sure what it would be.

In an unrelated note, Culpepper will appear in a 60-second NFL Network commercial to air during the Super Bowl along with several other players and coaches from around the league that didn't make it to the big game. They'll be singing "Tomorrow," a tune from the musical "Annie."

lucas9000
02-03-2005, 01:13 PM
i think the fact that the kid asked for it and put him on the spot in front of everyone makes this an entirely different story than if culpepper had called a press conference to announce he was giving this kid his jewelry. i really don't think culpepper did anything horribly wrong here.

Nottom
02-03-2005, 01:31 PM
[ QUOTE ]
i think the fact that the kid asked for it and put him on the spot in front of everyone makes this an entirely different story than if culpepper had called a press conference to announce he was giving this kid his jewelry. i really don't think culpepper did anything horribly wrong here.

[/ QUOTE ]

Boris
02-03-2005, 01:59 PM
So you would sacrifice your integrity just so people think you're a nice guy?

Jack of Arcades
02-03-2005, 02:03 PM
Dude, if a paralyzed kid, one of the guest of honors, asked to wear some of your jewelry, would you not do it?

It was all a big misunderstanding and Daunte's sending the kid something. What the hell is he gonna do, say "no, you can't wear my [censored]?"

lucas9000
02-03-2005, 02:06 PM
[ QUOTE ]
So you would sacrifice your integrity just so people think you're a nice guy?

[/ QUOTE ]

no i would probably feel incredibly awkward and not know what to do, so i'd make some rash decision without thinking it through, and then later on i'd try to make up for my rash decision by doing something nice. i'm not saying that was what went through culpepper's head, but it's surely what i would have gone through /images/graemlins/smile.gif

Tron
02-03-2005, 02:13 PM
Yeah, I think he was probably just messing around, and never figured that the kid or his parents would actually think he was giving away $75,000 worth of jewelry.

It'd probably help to see a video of the event, but I'm willing to bet that Daunte was just messing around and figured the kid would play along. Then, of course, his mom started crying and his dad started talking about safes, and everything got real awkward, real fast.