It was just a handful of years ago that all of southwest Missouri was watching Dorial Green-Beckham, the young and extremely talented receiver from the Springfield Hillcrest Hornets' football program make amazing catches and skillfully avoid any would-be defensive back that wanted to bring him down before he reached the end zone. That scenario happened time and again and all of us knew we were watching perhaps the most talented and heralded athlete to come out of the Springfield school system ever.
And then came basketball season, in which all the area got the chance to see what a chiseled form Green-Beckham possessed and a glimpse of the sheer athletic ability he was able to exhibit.
As a sports writer for many years, I was able to cover Green-Beckham in both sports and I even wrote a column a handful of years ago that received probably more negative reactions than positive. The nutshell version of that article was that this young athlete needed to be "reigned-in", if you will. That, although I don't profess to be a prophet, the fame and fortune of stardom might be too much for him without proper guidance.
I wish I had been wrong. There's no joy in saying "i told you so", not when it means so much to Green-Beckham himself, his family, the University of Missouri, Hillcrest High School and the rest of us that watched in amazement as he represented us well in Missouri's epic loss to Auburn in the SEC Championship game, followed by a win in the Cotton Bowl over Oklahoma State.
But there were just too many red flags that any of us, or more importantly, the University of Missouri could overlook.
What was the first red flag I saw? I stood on the Hillcrest football sideline one night and watched DGB run at-will over any would-be defender and score touchdown after touchdown. But it wasn't his touchdowns that brought concern. It was the one other score by a Hornet's player that night that shot that flag up high in the sky, as everyone ran to his side to congratulate him. Oh wait, not everyone. DGB stood in the opposite end of the end zone with his body language declaring, "Are you kidding me? This is my show!" He never congratulated another player that night and I knew we had a problem.
Then I had the opportunity to provide the color commentary on Jock 98.7 for the Hillcrest boy's basketball team's state championship game that year in Columbia. The Hornets fell behind early and by the fourth quarter, it was obvious that a state title was not going to happen. It was then that the standout athlete that had already declared his intentions to play football just across the street from where we were began to show his true colors. The game was not top priority anymore. DGB was top priority, as he yelled for the ball time-after-time so he could showcase his skills. But he was outmatched on the hardwood floor and eventually asked to come out of the game so he could gaze around the venue and see who was there watching. That was red flag number two and all I needed to see.
The University of Missouri did what not many of the school's in the SEC Conference would have done, in my opinion, as they regained the school's integrity. That is a win for the school now and for years to come. It's going to sting for a while, but it will be a jewel in the crown of the athletic program in just a few short years.
Southwest Missouri may have lost its opportunity to root for the home town boy for now, but DGB will be back, and when he is drafted into the NFL, we will offer our forgiveness and, once again, stand up and cheer the man that made too many mistakes when he was just a boy.