When some NFL players get drafted, they tend to buy luxurious items with their first multimillion dollar contract. The usual purchases are a new house for mom, a tricked out vehicle, or some ridiculously expensive jewelry. In former Ole Miss defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche’s case, he told Seth Wickersham of ESPN.com, he wants to buy a pet panther. Yes, you read that correctly.
The 21-year-old outlined how he planned on buying a pet panther once he gets his rookie contract. The likely first-round pick is apparently very interested in panthers according to Wickersham, watching hours of panther videos at a time.
“And he’s watching Instagram videos of domesticated panthers. He likes the black ones, likes how their eyes glow. He stares at shots of people playing with panthers, wrestling with them as if they were dogs, nudging faces, fearless when they open their mouths. “It’s sick.”
It would be cool to own a panther theoretically, but they’re not exactly a domesticated animal. Still, Nkemdiche told ESPN “they’re like cats” and that “If someone comes over and is scared, I’ll put the panther away.” Well, at least he’s thinking about the safety of others.
Nkemdiche’s draft stock took a considerable hit after he jumped out of a window while under the influence of alcohol and marijuana. Still, Wickersham’s feature paints him as a chill guy who made a dumb mistake. Nkemdiche thinks of himself as a philosopher, who said he’s “evolved” and is writing a science fiction book about a meeting of the “thoughts of the human mind and the conscious.” I’m not sure what that actually entails, but he sounds like a very interesting young man filled with many thoughts.
Like most of us, he also seems pretty bad at bowling.
“In size 14 shoes, he hunches over and almost crawls to the stripe, like a cat tiptoeing to prey. He throws like a softball pitcher, the ball spinning and floating before landing halfway down the lane with a hammering thud so loud it summons an increased respect for wood. In terms of pins, he’s hit or miss.
Today, mostly miss.”
Wickersham’s feature is pretty wild. Nkemdiche sounds like a first-year philosophy student who’s been enlightened by reading and not fully understanding Plato’s Republic. He’s a 21-year-old who thinks anything is possible. While I don’t think owning a pet panther is a great idea, I hope he gets drafted by Carolina, just so he can at least get the experience of playing with Panthers.
And of course, the Panthers had a response to the profile.
.@SirPurr is available for birthday parties: https://t.co/4bQ0xorc4q https://t.co/rH6X0jzVoX
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) April 18, 2016
[ESPN]
