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Sports
October 20, 2011 The Observer
www.fordhamobserver.com
From Sing Sing to the Boxing Ring: Bozella Realizes Dream By Randy Narine Sports Co-Editor
After serving 26 years in prison for a murder he did not commit, Dewey Bozella finally got what he had worked for, a professional boxing match. He did not disappoint, beating opponent Larry Hopkins by unanimous decision. Bozella was charged in 1983 for the murder of 92-year old Emma Crasper. Crasper was murdered in her Poughkeepsie home in 1977. Bozella’s case included false testimonies and a failed investigation that led to a judge sentencing him to 20 years to life in prison at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, New York. After a few years of incarceration, Bozella entered the prisonboxing program. In boxing, Bozella found what would help him survive prison. In an ESPN interview Bozella stated, “Boxing saved me. Boxing deals with morals, obligations and responsibilities. And the main thing is discipline. It helped me to find that freedom I needed. That was my peace.” Bozella excelled at boxing, becoming the undefeated light heavyweight champion at Sing Sing. His prowess in the ring earned him a special fight with former WBA Light Heavyweight Champion Lou De Valle. De Valle would win the fight due to blood stoppage after a combination of punches opened a gash on Bozella’s forehead. Bozella said in his interview, “What I loved about it, even though it was a loss, was he was the first man to knock down Roy Jones. I can’t complain. I’m happy.” While doing battle in the ring, Bozella also continued to fight for his freedom in Sing Sing. In 1990, Bozella was granted a retrial. The district attorney offered the boxer a deal: he admitted his guilt he could walk free. Bozella refused the deal and in his interview stated, “I cant. You’re not going to make me say I did something that I didn’t do. Everything that I stood for, everything had been taken away from me. Ev-
Dewey Bozella spent 26 years wrongfully imprisoned in Sing Sing Correctional Facility.
erything. I can’t live with you or anybody else telling me that I killed an old woman.” Bozella was found guilty and was again trapped in prison. He continued to fight to improve his situation by earning a bachelor’s and a master’s degree. He sent endless letters to the Innocence Project, a non-profit group that helps to prove the innocence of wrongly convicted people through the use of DNA testing. The firm took up Bozella’s case and searched for evidence to prove him innocent.
The Innocence Project referred the case to the law firm, WilmerHale. All of the evidence from the case had been disposed of but the firm found that Arthur Regula, the lead detective in Bozella’s case, had kept a copy of the case file. It was the only case file Regula ever kept because he was not entirely sure Bozella was guilty. The file showed the prosecution withheld evidence that another man had already been convincted of the murder. On Oct. 14, 2009, after Bozella had served 26 years
in prison, Justice James T. Rooney ruled that he had been wrongfully convicted. Following his freedom, Bozella was honored this year at the Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards (ESPY’s) with the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. All Bozella had been through led him to his fight on Oct. 15. Bozella started the four-round fight slowly by trailing for the first round of the fight. However, after he got warmed up in the second round, Bozella would never look back. He was the aggressor in the fight and the 52-
Gorinin /WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
year old boxer as young as his 30year old opponent. By the fourth round Bozella had Hopkins reeling. His opponent, who had dropped his mouth guard six times, was saved from Bozella’s flurry of punches by the bell. After the fight Bozella said, “This is my first and my last fight, so I thank you all very much.” He cited age as the reason but added, “It’s one of the greatest moments of my life.” And after all the suffering, Bozella finally got his well-deserved win under the big lights.
NHL Skates By Topic of LGBT Rights in the Game By joe Sparacio Contributing Writer
Kevin P. Coughlin/newsday
The NHL dropped the ball by not fining Wayne Simmonds for his antigay slur against Sean Avery (pictured).
Hockey is known as one of the most physical of professional sports, rife with bad blood and plenty of trash talk, but how much is too much? On Monday, Sept. 25, the New York Rangers played the Philadelphia Flyers, in what is always a very heated rivalry in the Eastern Conference. Games are usually exciting, filled with flashy goals, brilliant saves and oftentimes heated brawls. This could all be expected, but the game’s integrity took a turn for the worse when Rangers hot-headed winger Sean Avery claimed that Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds called him a homophobic slur during the first period of the preseason contest. A video replay showed that Simmonds did indeed call Avery the slur as he was passing the Flyers’ bench. Avery is known by the NHL to be a very fiery player and often instigates arguments, but he was both offended and disappointed in Simmonds. Avery was a spokesperson for LGBT over the summer, doing campaign ads and appearing in a public service announcement in May supporting gay rights and marriage equality. Avery said that he was disappointed in Simmonds, stating, “It’s an issue that people are dealing with and trying to overcome and 10 years ago, maybe it wasn’t so much an issue but it’s certainly an issue politically with people in the game. And just in life in general.” What is even more controver-
sial about this exchange is that the NHL had the ability to punish Simmonds, but chose not to. Though it was clear that Simmonds did in fact use a homophobic slur towards Avery, the NHL did nothing, claiming in a statement that, “Simmonds said he couldn’t remember what he said and that none of the referees on the ice could verify what was said.” As a result, they could not punish Simmonds in any way. If anyone were to watch the replay and had even the slightest ability to read lips, they would know that Simmonds used an anti-gay insult to try to elicit a reaction and offend Avery. Simmonds was unapologetic and did not deny what Avery claimed, saying, “Honestly, we were going back and forth for a while there and … I can’t recall every single word I said.” The NBA had similar incidents in the past and they were dealt with immediately and efficiently. During Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Bulls Joakim Noah was caught yelling the same derogatory insult at a fan out of frustration and was fined $50,000. The Lakers Kobe Bryant was fined $100,000 for yelling a similar phrase at a referee. This was after the NBA promised to take a stronger stance against insults, especially those regarding race and gender. The NHL didn’t take after the NBA and fine Simmonds, despite the fact that both incidents used the same words and were caught on video. LGBT representatives from Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against
Defamation (GLAAD) and Human Rights campaigners were wondering why the leagues treated the cases differently. When Noah made the mistake during the Finals, Joe Solmonese, the president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement, “It’s just plain unacceptable. At a time when the NBA and a growing number of pro athletes are publicly standing up for equality, it’s too bad Noah worked against their efforts last night. That said, we’re pleased he quickly realized the error of his ways and apologized.” Yet, in the case of the NHL there was more backlash against the league itself. On their website, GLAAD accused the NHL of being hypocritical. The NHL promised that homophobic slurs “will not be tolerated” yet, when it comes down to it, some authorities turn a blind eye.” Professional sports set an example of a lifestyle that many young teenagers closely follow. The NHL is setting an awful example of how to deal with intolerance. The gay community has to deal with problems like these on a daily basis and the fact that the league turned a blind eye makes it seem acceptable for others to be intolerant. It is important to recognize the controversy and it is the players’ jobs to avoid allowing similar circumstances to happen in the future. Maybe next time, the NHL will learn from the NBA and stand up for the tolerance that it claims to defend.