Brian Banks Signs With the Atlanta Falcons

On April 3, 2013, I was told via the Atlanta Falcons mobile alert system that they have signed Brian Banks, a former prisoner that was recently exonerated.

During his senior year of high school in 2001 at Long Beach Polytechnic High School in California, Banks was accused by a childhood friend of kidnapping and raping her at their school campus amidst a time when he was being heavily recruited by top football programs throughout the nation such as the University of Southern California (USC), the University of Michigan and Ohio State University. He has been quoted as saying that his mother was the only person who believed him when he told her that the story that his friend, Wanetta Gibson, reported to authorities was a lie. In 2002, a California courtroom found Banks guilty, and the judge sentenced him to five years in prison, ruining his dreams of becoming a college and later professional football star. Before the hearings, Banks had verbally committed to play for USC on a football scholarship.

While his dreams of becoming a college football star will never be fulfilled, Banks has recently found that his dream of becoming an NFL player is not over. Banks was released from prison a few years ago. Last year, Gibson surprisingly sent Banks a message via Facebook saying that she would like to talk to him in person. Banks said he was skeptical of meeting with her, but finally agreed to after speaking with a investigator and hoping that she would help clear his record since her confession would be the only way to do that according to attorneys that Banks had consulted with.

In the first meeting, she confessed to Banks that she had falsely accused him. The second meeting was videotaped unbeknownst to Gibson where she again verbally confessed to both Banks and defense investigator, Freddie Parish, that she had falsely accused him of kidnapping and raping her. She offered to help clear his record by confessing that he had never kidnapped or raped her, but she did not want to tell prosecutors since Gibson and her mother had also won a $1.5 million lawsuit against Long Beach schools over a decade ago and did not want to have to pay it back. (It is unlikely that Gibson will have to repay the money since the accusation was made when she was only 15 years old, but recent stories regarding the school district's attempt to have her pay the money that have surfaced are saying otherwise.)

Banks’ record was cleared almost a year ago because of Gibson coming forward with her confession. She has not commented to the media regarding the situation. Up until the hearing last year that exonerated him, Banks’ name was on the list of registered sex offenders and was required to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet while on probation.

Since the hearing in 2012, Banks has played football in Las Vegas for the United Football League but has never been through an NFL offseason program. He will have the chance return to his star role as a football linebacker now that he has signed with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons as of April 9. While he has worked out with other NFL teams before (including the Falcons) and attended minicamps with teams such as the Seattle Seahawks, he has never signed with any team or participated in an offseason program.

As a longtime, die-hard Atlanta Falcons fan and strong believer in second chances, I am beyond excited that my favorite NFL team has given Banks this opportunity.  The only major press coverage that the Falcons have received since the Michael Vick crisis a few years ago has been about their performance on the field and their appearance in the NFC Championship. While I believe that their record and statistics this past season were very impressive, they are using their talent as the only means to hold onto their fair weather fans. With their signing of Banks, a large amount of positive press coverage has occurred, and the entire Atlanta community seems to be behind Banks and the team. I am hoping that Banks will be able to prove himself during the offseason and make the Falcons roster not only for himself but for the Falcons’ community as well.

It seems that I'm not the only person who is cheering on Banks' return to football according to social media. This story may have gone viral initially through traditional media (which is somewhat untraditional these days), but the response on social networks is what has kept the conversation about the story going. A variety of Twitter, Facebook and blog posts have all been dedicated to Banks over the past several weeks, and his name was even trending at one point. Once again, this proves that inspirational stories are popular shares amongst social communities. Everyone loves a good comeback story, especially in sports. (On a side note, it looks like the Braves have caught on to this comeback train going through Atlanta as well with their great ninth inning comeback win over the Nationals last week!)