There is no shortage of black success stories in sports. Meanwhile, two prominent black men from Odessa (who are not athletes) have fallen from grace. Willie Hammond Jr. (the first black city councilor and county commissioner) and Laurence Hurd (a minister and desegregation advocate) were glimmers of hope for the black community that were both extinguished. Hammond was arrested on charges of malicious conspiracy and perjury and Hurd is in prison for burglary and robbery, leaving a hole in the morale of the black community that has not been repaired. These losses, combined with the negative news about blacks spread through the media, made the possibility of succeeding in a white man's world inconceivable. Yet, there is no shortage of black success stories in sports, such as Michael Jordan and Bo Jackson; in every field that is not a "rich man's sport", black athletes dominate. For poor children on the Southside, there is something very appealing about the "Cinderella stories" of men from poor black neighborhoods who rise to prominence through sports. Based on these examples, there appear to be only two paths for a black teenager to take: criminal or athlete. Many of these teenagers aspire to become sports stars and do not depend on anything else because there is nothing else. Some may become the superstars they hope to be or fall to ruin like Boobie Miles, Derric Evans and Gary Edwards