Louis Delmas' off-the-field hardships

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Lions rookie S Louis Delmas had already beaten the odds before donning the Honolulu blue and silver, before he was drafted, and before he became a standout at Western Michigan.

Associated Press football writer Larry Lage provides a glimpse of the hard times Delmas had to overcome growing up.

"Detroit Lions safety Louis Delmas says he tries his best to forget about his childhood, including seeing his drug-dealing parents for the last time about a dozen years ago," Lage writes.

Delmas recounted to Lage being handcuffed as a child in Sarasota, Fla., "and taken to a police station where he saw his parents for the last time before they were deported to Haiti." Delmas credits the people who were positive influences in his life in Florida and Kalamazoo for getting him where he is today.

Lage's story is very short and leaves you wanting to know more. A.P. sometimes does that in advance of a longer story coming out later in the day. I'll keep an eye out for one.

Talk about it in The Den.