Greg Hanlon has a story about former major leaguer Chad Curtis over at SportsOnEarth today, and it’s a must-read.
Curtis, who was convicted on six counts of sexual assault arising out of his inappropriate touching of teenage girls at a Michigan high school where he was a volunteer strength trainer, is serving 7-15 years in prison. Despite the fact his appeal is pending, he spoke to Hanlon on the record about his case and his accusers. And he sounds like an absolutely deluded monster:Curtis tells me that the first accusation against him broke on his 3-year-old’s birthday. The second came on his 11-year-old’s. He was arrested on the day of his 19-year-old’s graduation.
“Now, is that coincidental? Or is that someone looking at your personal file and deciding to mess with you?” he says to me.
Looked at one way, it’s a laughably grandiose delusion of a man whose persecution complex is in proportion to his Jesus complex. But in person, in real time, Curtis is more compelling than he is after the fact. Like any charismatic person, he pulls you in and makes you want to go along with what he’s saying. He has the convincingness of someone who has thoroughly convinced himself of his own innocence.
He blames his victims and he believes that they will recant their stories one day. He even believes that one of them will write a book with him one day that, ultimately, will benefit people. He’s that right, you see, and they’re all wrong and he has God on his side.
Based on Curtis’ sociopathy and sickness, 15 years doesn’t sound like nearly enough.
