Marcus Spears (ep)

Posted on Sat, Nov. 26, 2005
Spears out of bounds on this one JASON WHITLOCK I’m telling this story because I like Marcus Spears, the former Chiefs offensive lineman. Sometimes people need a friend to hold the mirror. I’ll hold the mirror today. Wednesday afternoon, as I was driving to Manhattan, Kan., to watch the Kansas State Wildcats play New Mexico in basketball, Marcus Spears called my old radio producer Scott Cruce and left a frantic message: “Scott, have Jason call me. This is the most racist (expletive) I’ve ever seen,” Spears screamed into Scott’s voice mail. “The police is up here ….” Scott was driving me and another friend to the game. Scott played Marcus’ voice mail as we motored across Interstate 70. I immediately called Marcus’ cell phone. He didn’t answer. Two hours later, Marcus returned my call. I couldn’t talk. The Wildcats were down double digits, Jim Wooldridge’s foolish and misguided critics were celebrating, and I wasn’t in the proper frame of mind to listen to Marcus’ rantings. “Call me back in a couple of hours; we’ll be driving back from the game,” I told Spears. Well, on the drive back, I fell asleep, and when I woke up I was holding a Grey Goose and tonic, loud dance music was blaring and I was slouched in the champagne room of a private nightclub. Just as I was angrily demanding an explanation for how we wound up here, Spears called again. It was close to 1 a.m. “Where you at, man?” Spears asked. “I gotta tell you this story. This is some serious racial (expletive). You need to come out here so I can tell you this story. They called me a (N-word), you a (N-word) and every black man in Kansas City a (N-word). We going out there Friday morning and raising hell. Me, you and all the television stations.” “Dude,” I said, “let me holler at you in the morning. There’s nothing I can do right now. I’m a little tied up.” Well, at 10 Thanksgiving morning, Marcus called me again. “Jason, I flew here (Wednesday) morning to buy a truck,” explained Spears, whose primary residence is now in Houston. “I bought a one-way ticket, didn’t even pack no clothes. I got on jeans, a T-shirt and flip-flops. But I ain’t leaving here. They called me a (N-word), you a (N-word) and every black man in Kansas City a (N-word). I ain’t gonna let ’em get away with it.” So I asked Marcus what happened, who called him awful names. “The truck company,” he said. “They wouldn’t finance my truck because they said I needed to tell them how I was going to use it commercially. You know what that’s about. Man, I just retired from the NFL three days ago. I got millions. And they said I can’t buy no truck unless I can tell them how I was going to use it. You know what that’s about.” Spears kept me on the phone for an additional five or 10 minutes. He kept repeating how this particular company insulted black men all across the country by asking him what sounded like standard credit-application questions. Even though the company didn’t really ever use the N-word, that’s how Spears took it. He insisted that I go out to the truck company with him on Friday and demand justice. With Spears ranting, raving and cussing, I eventually hung up my phone and turned it off. Friday morning — after a discussion with someone very familiar with Spears’ demanding and self-important off-field behavior as a Chief — I called the trucking company that had the audacity to ask Spears standard credit-application questions. I talked with the general manager and the marketing manager. Their stories were consistent with the story Spears told me. There is no dispute about what happened. Spears wanted to buy a $110,000 CXT pickup truck. It’s known as the world’s largest production pickup truck. It stands 9 feet tall and has a 21-foot-long flat bed. “It’s a big toy,” the general manager told me. “It’s really just a conversation piece. People like Brett Favre, Michael Vick and Ashton Kutcher own them.” Spears, who last played for the Texans in 2004, has been eyeing a CXT all fall. He befriended the people at this particular truck company, discussed working as a salesman for the company and even invited one of the company’s higher-ups to a Chiefs game. “He was a very nice gentleman the first time I met him,” the marketing manager told me. “He was totally different on Wednesday. I don’t know what was happening.” On Wednesday, Spears showed up unannounced and told the GM he wanted to buy the truck. The general manager turned Spears over to his business manager. Spears said he wanted to finance the truck. When the business manager informed Spears that the truck would have to be used commercially for the finance company to approve the loan, Spears started screaming racism. “Our company normally deals with corporations or businesses. Our trucks, except for this new toy, are for commercial use,” the general manager explained. “We use International Finance Group, and they typically don’t finance individuals. They finance corporations or commercial users. We explained this to Marcus. I even handed him a credit application, but he slapped it out of my hand.” Spears then began to threaten a lawsuit and said he would call the police. He called his friends in the media, including you-know-who. The ordeal lasted more than an hour. Eventually the GM called the police, and the police asked Spears to leave. Both sides tell this same story. “(Marcus) kept saying this was racism,” the general manager said. “He broke down and was literally crying. He said he couldn’t talk to his mama anymore and that we were all going to hell. He said: ‘Do you know who I am? I’ll own this place. I’ll have all of your jobs.’ And then he would calm down. “He said he had $7 million in the bank and that he was buying the truck as a retirement present for himself. He kept showing us three checkbooks. I told him we’d be more than happy to let him write a check for the truck. But he said, ‘Why would I pay for it now when I can pay for it later?’ ” On Friday afternoon, two people claiming to work for local radio stations called the truck company demanding that the company’s management answer Spears’ charges of racism. Spears came back out to the truck company. The general manager instructed his employees to call the police. “We just want this to go away now,” the general manager said. “We don’t want any trouble. We don’t want any publicity. We’re a small company. We don’t want a problem with a Chiefs player.” I haven’t heard from Spears since Thanksgiving night. He called my cell phone and left me a message. “Hey, man, how come you didn’t invite me to your house for Thanksgiving dinner?” he said. “You over there cooking for everybody, but you didn’t invite me.” Marcus, buy a ticket today, fly back to Houston, humble yourself and don’t come back here until you’re ready to offer everyone a full apology. To reach Jason Whitlock, call (816) 234-4869 or send e-mail to jwhitlock@kcstar.com. For previous columns, go to KansasCity.com.