Monday, March 30, 2009

Ryan Moats, Apologies, Black Folks, and Praying For Forgiveness

DALLAS (AP) - An NFL player said Monday he accepts the apology offered by a Dallas police officer who stopped him with a drawn gun in a hospital parking lot while his mother-in-law was dying inside.

Houston Texans running back Ryan Moats said on ABC's "Good Morning America" that he hopes Officer Robert Powell was sincere in his apology.

Powell stopped Moats' SUV outside Baylor Regional Medical Center in suburban Plano on March 18 after the vehicle rolled through a red light. Moats' wife, Tamishia, and other relatives were also in the car.

The officer pulled out his gun and threatened Moats with jail as the player pleaded to be allowed to go inside the hospital. Moats' mother-in-law died before he got there while Powell wrote Moats a ticket and lectured him.

Powell, who has been placed on paid leave pending an investigation, issued a statement Friday through his attorneys.

"I wish to publicly and sincerely apologize to the Moats family, my colleagues in the Dallas Police Department, and to all those who have been rightfully angered by my actions on March 18, 2009. After stopping Mr. Moats' vehicle, I showed poor judgment and insensitivity to Mr. Moats and his family by my words and actions," Powell's statement said.

Tamishia Moats said she'd like to hear the apology personally, but that she, too, would definitely accept it.

AAPP: Not me, after you pulled a gun on me and my wife, and you send some apology through your attorney, oh hell no... Why do black folks in the south forgive so quickly?

In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. - Acts 17:30

This Dallas cop has not repented for his sins against the moats through an attorney. One must pray for forgiveness. It's not clear he has.

But that is just my opinion. Do you have one?