We've Always Heard About It, Brian Price Has Lived It

Bucs DT Brian Price at a Crenshaw Football Camp

N.W.A., "The world's most dangerous group", told stories of violence and hard times in South Central Los Angeles.  Their songs were like news reports to members of the inner-city all over America, due to the suppression of national news coverage that dealt with violence in South Central and other similar communities.  As stated by N.W.A. member Ice Cube, "Either they don't know, don't show, or don't care about what's going on in the hood". 

N.W.A.

To the people that were not from these types of blighted neighborhoods, N.W.A.'s songs literally romanticized these living conditions and almost made the listeners think of these issues as being in sort of a fantasy land.  It almost didn't sound like reality.

But reality it was, and still is.  For reference, consider Bucs DT Brian Price.  He was a resident of the Crenshaw portion of South Central L.A., which was frequently mentioned in songs by rap artists from South Central.  Price still has family there, and gives his time and resources to make life a little easier for members of that community. 

The issues mentioned by these songs were in stark comparison to the life Brian was facing on a daily basis.  The violence mentioned hit home for Price more times than we'd like to write about. 

Brian Price lost his two older brothers to violence there.  Damon and Eddie.  They now reside at the Inglewood Park Cemetery. 

Damon Price, 24, as reported back in 2010 by the then Tampa Tribune's Rick Stroud, was killed by a family friend who was a member of the area's Rollin' 30's Crips.  Damon had been taken in by the gang and protected when he did a short bid in prison.  When he got out of prison, he tried to go straight, and it's believed he was killed because he did not pay the gang for said "protection" when he got out. 

Eddie Price, 18, was in the wrong place, at the wrong time, as he fell victim to a drive-by shooting while walking a young lady to a bus stop.  According to reports, she was the intended victim but it was Eddie that lost his life a mere block away from his family's home that day.

"In a two-week span, there were like 30 people that got killed on the corner where my brother got killed," Price said. "Growing up there just opened your eyes to a lot. We were so marginalized there. It's like a lot of people from there never get out."

Now, Price is enduring a different kind of tragedy, but the end result is all the same.  Last week, he lost an older sister, Bridget, the mother of two young sons, in a car accident.  Various reports state that she was the sister that Brian leaned on during the hard times when his brothers passed.  The loss was so devastating to Price, that he was hospitalized for 3 days until yesterday, with dehydration and exhaustion.


Bucs DT Brian Price, mauling Falcons QB Matt Ryan


Brian Price has also been dealing with his two hamstrings, which both tore from the bone back in 2010, and he's still not 100% recovered from that.  As a matter of fact, he was in the airport, about to fly to see his doctor and get an update on his legs when he got the unfortunate call from his father. 

This man has dealt with more problems than many men can bare, but he's still with us, fighting to get to that light at the end of the tunnel.  He has been rehabbing his injuries like a madman, and he's even agreed to adopt his two young nephews that are now without their mother. 

We here at BuccaneerTalk.com salute Mr. Price, and will be rooting for him to overcome all of these obstacles.  If there ever was a player for fans to get behind, its this guy.