Some sports fans are used to hearing the horror stories of former NFL athletes before and after their football playing careers, but here is a tale for the story books. A former NFL player recently had an unusual complaint: 300 teenagers trespassed, robbed, vandalized, and partied in his home while he was away on vacation.
Brian Holloway, a former offensive tackle who played in the NFL from 1981 to 1988, came home from vacation to find his home completely trashed and vandalized. However, that was not the first time he saw the damage or heard about the party. He watched the entire process unfold via Twitter. With a warning from his son’s friend, Holloway watched the tweets roll in about the fun-filled robbery, the illegal activities, and the police arriving to tame the wildfire of a party. Holloway experienced vacation completely helpless, unable to prevent the crazed teens from doing whatever they wanted.
The damage from the party will cost Holloway a whopping $20,000. How did he respond? He used the same tool that the kids unknowingly used to make him aware of the party in the first place: the Internet. Holloway created a website called helpmesave300.com to accept donations for his home, ask for assistance in fixing it up, show the world some of the pictures and tweets, and most of all, help save 300, referring to the number of kids who vandalized his home. It is Holloway’s belief that these kids should receive punishments because of their hedonism and disregard for the law.
On his website, Holloway states, “But I want to aside the very strong emotions I’m feeling and focus on the one thing that is extremely clear, the lives of these 300 people. I want them to live. I’ve seen too many young people die because of excessive partying, drugs and alcohol.”
Since the creation of the site, four kids have come forward and confessed their guilt to the police; however, the other 296 have kept quiet, cowering beneath failure. Holloway is determined to rectify the actions of these 296.
After reading through his website, it seems that Holloway’s belief is correct. While I am sorry for what happened to Holloway’s home, I have to agree with him: I am more sorry for the 300.