After the lawn of Bills cornerback Leodis McKelvin was vandalized last week, his teammate Kawika Mitchell struck a threatening pose on his Twitter page.
“With all the safety issues in the NFL, it’s not funny at all,” Mitchell wrote (we cleaned up the original 140-character missive for clarity). “We have family at our homes to protect. If you show your face on my property, I’ll make sure I do everything to keep my family safe. It’s my job to protect my home as it is the job of all home owners. Don’t push the limit.”
Well, as we told you earlier, someone went over that limit in the Western New York hamlet of Hamburg on Sunday. The home of Bills safety Donte Whitner was robbed of $400,000 worth of jewelry.
Bills players have long had a unique relationship with the fans of Buffalo. It’s similar to Green Bay, Wisconsin in that the players are seen as part of the community, not entertainment providers. There is no “love-hate” relationship between the majority of Bills fans and their team. They seem to love them unconditionally (witness T.O. being given the key to the city when he was signed in March, and no changing of the locks, yet).
But the incident at Whitner’s home just six days after the trashing of McKelvin’s lawn is going to put Bills players on high alert. And you can assume that, at least for the foreseeable future, it will be difficult for Bills players to pull out of their driveways and drive down the street without wondering if their property is next.