Welcome to Atlanta, Shelden

As a resident of downtown Atlanta, I see enough broken glass and get enough crime-related emails from Georgia Tech to know that you are not alone in having your car stolen. Armed robberies have been happening around GT sometimes too, and that's even with a strong police presence.

What gets me about this story is the AP article. "The incident is only the latest in a series of attacks on professional athletes." This is in reference to Sean Taylor and "Indiana Pacers guard Jamaal Tinsley and his entourage". Initially, I thought this was blowing a simple carjacking way out of proportion. Sean Taylor appears to have been targeted because they thought his house was empty and had nice stuff. Tinsley and co. pulled up at a club and apparently were harassed because they were making too much money. Shelden had his 2008 Chrysler at a barber shop well outside downtown. Unfortunately, the AP may be right, but I don't think it's because they're pro athletes. I think it's that they're rich. With high crime rates in many major cities, the money of the athletes makes an appealing target, whether it's the car, jewelry, or something else.

The most concerning part is that there isn't really a strong pattern between the three crimes. Two of them involved nice cars, and one started at a club (clearly not smart). But Taylor's murder happened in his unobtrusive, gated home, when he was with family. It appears that athletes need to keep a low profile, but it's hard not to spend the buckets of money and their physical appearance is frequently quite distinctive. If I were rich, I would be making an effort to obscure that fact. The only positive thing I have to say is at least kidnapping isn't a typical money-making activity against the upper class in the country like it is in Central and South America.

In addition to these three crimes, there were three other robberies of pro athletes at gunpoint last summer: Dunta Robinson, Eddy Curry, and Antoine Walker. All three of these occurred in the player's home. It's a bad state of affairs when the people that children idolize and want to become are the same people that need significant security just to protect themselves and their families from random acts of greed.