Stealing Benji Wilson

Murder.

For some people murder is a very real part of their everyday lives. Whether they aren't afraid to commit it, trying to avoid it, or not be impacted by it. 

Murder is what ended the life of Simeon basketball star Benji Wilson. 

ESPN debuted their "30 for 30: Benji" documentary, and it tells the complete story of an incomplete life lived. 

Wilson wasn't a clear cut superstar early on in his high school career. He had to earn his way onto the varsity team, only after his teammates told the coach to give him a chance. He grew to 6-8, and led the Wolverines to a state championship. Wilson became the #1 high school basketball recruit in the nation, the first from Chicago to accomplish that feat.

As you watch the documentary, you see how his story & life are developing. Growing up in Chicago, a hot bed for basketball talent, but also drugs & crime. Benji had people trying their hardest to protect him and dissuade him from becoming a part of the "streets." It's a lifestyle his older brother and friends had fallen into, but Wilson wasn't going to be like that. He even had neighbors like R. Kelly and the rapper, Common. 

More and more people are introduced, and the feel you get is that they want nothing more than to ride the coattails of Benji. Not just for the money or fame, but for a friend and brother to succeed. 

You can't help but wonder when something is going to go wrong. Gangs were spreading their influence into more and more Chicago neighborhoods. Guns were becoming more of a problem. It sounds like 2012, but it's 1984. 

Wilson fell in love, and had a son with his girlfriend when he was just 17 years old. Benji understood his decisions, but remained focused.

The details of Wilson's death are still unclear to this day. Depending on who you ask, the story might be different. Whether he bumped into fellow teens Billy Moore and Omar Dixon while walking on a sidewalk, or it was a botched robbery, the bottom line is Benji was shot twice in broad daylight. 

This is the most compelling part of the documentary for me. 

It's the middle of the school day, as Wilson is lying on the ground fighting for his life. It's like the entire city of Chicago heard the gunshots. Teammates, friends and family run to the scene. The media gets word about the shooting. An ambulance rushes Wilson to the nearest hospital, but there's no trauma doctors on-site, and surgery is delayed for more than 2 hours. He dies the next morning. 

EVERYTHING worked against Benji. He was the 669th murder victim in 1984. 

So far in 2012, Chicago has 426 murders, up from 341 at this time last year. 

Can you place a value on one human life? Is it just a case of showing, proving, sharing how much someone meant?

Ben Wilson was compared to the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Walter Payton. He was the hope of a neighborhood, a school, a city. 

Seeing how the media covered the death, and the funeral was interesting for me because people often think the cameras are intrusive and there's no place for them. I AGREE. At the same time though, they tell a story and they capture emotion. In this case it's the worst kind of emotion with thousands of people grieving, and walking past an open casket paying their final respects. On the other side of the emotion, it could be the soldier coming home, embracing his/her family.

Wilson is that everlasting positive emotion. His legacy kept alive by his accomplishments, but also by those who came after him. Derrick Rose was a back-to-back state champ at Simeon. Now there's Jabari Parker. He's the #1 high school basketball player in the nation, and 3-time state champ for the Wolverines.

The sad truth is that people can do extraordinary things, but we are our own worst enemy. We limit our potential through our negative actions.

 Benji Wilson deserved better.