So I’m just scrolling through the 3SOB Twitter feed over there on the left side of the page. Of course, you’ll see your usual Neato-Stats from Pete Pranica:
Petey’s @memgrizz Neat-o Stat of the Day: Magic with 2 players (Kyle O’Quinn and Andrew Nicholson) who didn’t play until juniors in HS.
— Pete Pranica (@PetePranica) February 22, 2013
And of course, assorted zaniness from Tony Allen:
I guess that’s Just a Memphis saying “Everybody ain’t straight” lol I’m. Taking that 2 chicago!!!
— Tony Allen (@aa000G9) February 21, 2013
When I run across this tweet from every Grizzlies’ fan’s favorite double-double machine:
Sign petition for DOJ to investigate hate crime agnst a friend from my hometown.wh.gov/v0mw#Stand4somethingorfall4anything
— Zach Randolph (@MacBo50) February 22, 2013
Call it part journalist, part curiosity. I clicked the link, which takes me to a petition that tells me about Brandon Pettiford, a biracial young man who was assaulted by three white men. Then I decided to look at the news clips on it. A quick summary: Apparently, Pettiford, who is biracial, left a party with Jessie Stout, a white female. The pair was followed by two men and a woman in a pickup truck. Both vehicles pulled over, an when all was said and done, Pettiford had been beaten near to death while racial slurs were allegedly shouted at him. The two men have been charged with various felonies and misdemeanors. Check this news clip from WTHI in Terre Haute:
Formal charges filed in beating case
A number of people believe the beating was racially motivated. However, Indiana has no state law for hate crimes. That’s why some local activists launched the online petition to ask the U.S. Department of Justice to file hate crime charges against the assailants.
So what does any of this have to do with Zach Randolph and why does he care? I asked him after the Orlando game on Feb. 22:
