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It Was A Different Era

statsman

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statsman

statsman 5423

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One of the more curious/odd/unexplainable life stories belongs to Lance Rentzel. I wish I had the narrative skill to make sense out of it; maybe if I just list events in chronological order, you can?

Rentzel came from a well to do family in OKC, and did terrific in sports and school. He was recruited to OU, and came off the bench in the ‘62 RRS to catch a couple of halfback passes in a losing effort. He became a star halfback, and was drafted as a RB by the Vikings in ‘65. 
 
He played sparingly for two seasons. He was also arrested for exposing himself to a little girl, which was kept quiet. It’s not clear whether the Cowboys knew this when they traded a third round pick for him. The very talented Dallas team converted him to Flanker, and he combined with Bob Hayes as one of the elite pairs in the NFL. He had a couple of great seasons receiving, married Joey Heatherton (hot singer/dancer) and was arrested for exposing himself to a couple of girls in Dallas. 
 
Here is where the story looks weird, to modern eyes. His arrests were treated as very minor offenses, and the media reported them as more “kinky” than dangerous. Over 50 years ago, did society not have the understanding that sex offenders have a real recidivism problem? Or that someone being caught twice might have done it (and worse) many more times?

Rentzel sought psychiatric counseling. Heatherton left him. The Cowboys traded him to the Rams. Rentzel’s explanation for his misbehaviors was that he was depressed and needed to express his masculinity. Uh huh. 
 
He struggled to reclaim his form in LA, and got bounced out of the league in ‘73 for smoking pot (priorities). Still not really a pariah, he was hired by Sport magazine to cover the Super Bowl, humorously and entertainingly, teamed with teammate Fred Dryer, in 1975. In 1989, the OKC newspaper featured him in an article about RRS memories, never referencing his sordid peccadilloes. 
 
I ask you- am I off base in thinking that modern society would look differently at such misdeeds (the exposing himself, not the pot)? Or, was it really just a different world?

 “The past is a different country; they do things differently there”. 
 

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statsman

statsman 5423

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It occurs to me, that thirty years after Rentzel was caught exposing himself to little girls, the Ags had a DT who was kicked off the team and exiled for exposing himself to grown women. (“Would you help me with this?”)

The non-reaction is crazy. Now, Rentzel was a buddy of a lot of the sportswriters, like Gary Cartwright and Steve Perkins, and that might have helped him. 

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Josef Pwag

Josef Pwag 1724

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1 hour ago, statsman said:

One of the more curious/odd/unexplainable life stories belongs to Lance Rentzel. I wish I had the narrative skill to make sense out of it; maybe if I just list events in chronological order, you can?

Rentzel came from a well to do family in OKC, and did terrific in sports and school. He was recruited to OU, and came off the bench in the ‘62 RRS to catch a couple of halfback passes in a losing effort. He became a star halfback, and was drafted as a RB by the Vikings in ‘65. 
 
He played sparingly for two seasons. He was also arrested for exposing himself to a little girl, which was kept quiet. It’s not clear whether the Cowboys knew this when they traded a third round pick for him. The very talented Dallas team converted him to Flanker, and he combined with Bob Hayes as one of the elite pairs in the NFL. He had a couple of great seasons receiving, married Joey Heatherton (hot singer/dancer) and was arrested for exposing himself to a couple of girls in Dallas. 
 
Here is where the story looks weird, to modern eyes. His arrests were treated as very minor offenses, and the media reported them as more “kinky” than dangerous. Over 50 years ago, did society not have the understanding that sex offenders have a real recidivism problem? Or that someone being caught twice might have done it (and worse) many more times?

Rentzel sought psychiatric counseling. Heatherton left him. The Cowboys traded him to the Rams. Rentzel’s explanation for his misbehaviors was that he was depressed and needed to express his masculinity. Uh huh. 
 
He struggled to reclaim his form in LA, and got bounced out of the league in ‘73 for smoking pot (priorities). Still not really a pariah, he was hired by Sport magazine to cover the Super Bowl, humorously and entertainingly, teamed with teammate Fred Dryer, in 1975. In 1989, the OKC newspaper featured him in an article about RRS memories, never referencing his sordid peccadilloes. 
 
I ask you- am I off base in thinking that modern society would look differently at such misdeeds (the exposing himself, not the pot)? Or, was it really just a different world?

 “The past is a different country; they do things differently there”. 
 

Plot Twist - statsman once had to blow Rentzel in Vegas for a sandwich.

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TxEx84

TxEx84 375

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Was a kid in Dallas when Rentzel played for the Cowboys and then was traded.  When the news broke about exposing himself, it was definitely a big story.  Even as a 7 or  year old, I knew about it. Lance's brother ran a summer program at WT White High School where we would go as kids.  He became sort of a pariah too. It was easier to hide things back then, but I still remember it as a big deal.

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pyrohornIII

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About in the same timeline, we had an older guy in our town when I was growing up that got his jollies fondling little boys' junk through their pants.  Everybody knew the guy, he worked at a local hardware store.   His wife also worked for a local merchant, so they weren't like big wigs in the community.  I don't know how many victims he had, but I know it was considerable.  Seems enough kids had experienced it, that it was an inside joke among us and we called him Homo Hal.  No one ever did anything, no one ever reported him.  Maybe the adults knew and figured it was pretty harmless as long as it didn't go further?   Maybe the kids never said anything.  

But yeah, that kind of thing wasn't often pursued, we didn't get any stranger-danger lectures.  This shit didn't happen, not the bad stuff.  we lived in Mayberry, Texas.   You have to remember this was about the time Whitman climbed the Tower.  That was unimaginable too to that society.  

Personally, I went through a quick encounter being accosted by him in the grocery store.  Lasted maybe 30 seconds and all I could think was "what in the world is he doing?"  I mean this guy was older and everyone liked him, so it was confusing to me at like 6 if he was doing something wrong, and if I was right to stop him or not.  Before I could act, he was done and walking off after patting me on the head like nothing had happened, me holding that dozen eggs.

But I don't think it had a lasting effect on me other than the oddity of the moment and the memory.  But each kid is different.  

So yeah, at least in our little corner of Texas, things were different.    So the question to me is, are we better off or worse when you consider all things that have evolved or regressed?

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Texzilla58

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It was a big deal at the time but nothing like the reaction would be now. Cowboys had another when Rafael Septien was arrested for molesting a ten year old girl.

I was young when the Rentzel news broke. He was known more for banging super hot Joey heatherton (basis for Lola Heatherton on SCTV). My dad and uncles just made jokes about him being a goddam pervert.
There is a high probability Lance remains a pedophile and has urges to reoffend. They can’t be cured.

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HRSchenker

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Reminds me a lot of former OU wide receiver Trey Metoyer. He was a 5 star recruit out of the Tyler area and got kicked off the team his sophomore year for whacking off in an apartment parking lot. I'm pretty sure he had to register as a sex offender. No idea where he is today.

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Pam Cummings

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1 hour ago, HRSchenker said:

Reminds me a lot of former OU wide receiver Trey Metoyer. He was a 5 star recruit out of the Tyler area and got kicked off the team his sophomore year for whacking off in an apartment parking lot. I'm pretty sure he had to register as a sex offender. No idea where he is today.

The rare actual name checking out

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honolulu horn

honolulu horn 6157

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11 hours ago, Texzilla58 said:

There is a high probability Lance remains a pedophile and has urges to reoffend. They can’t be cured.

This isn't an absolute. Offenders of all types, sexual and non-sexual, can change. Treatment for sex offenders can be effective, depending on the person, circumstances, treatment modality, etc.

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Jkwellborn

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This isn't an absolute. Offenders of all types, sexual and non-sexual, can change. Treatment for sex offenders can be effective, depending on the person, circumstances, treatment modality, etc.

When did you have to register? Because this sounds like something a pedophile would say.
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Vito Andolini

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20 hours ago, TxEx84 said:

Was a kid in Dallas when Rentzel played for the Cowboys and then was traded.  When the news broke about exposing himself, it was definitely a big story.  Even as a 7 or  year old, I knew about it. Lance's brother ran a summer program at WT White High School where we would go as kids.  He became sort of a pariah too. It was easier to hide things back then, but I still remember it as a big deal.

Yeah, I was a little kid in the 60’s and this was a massive story, covered in the news, everyone knew about it, Rentzel was shamed widely, jokes were flying (“Did you hear Lance Rentzel changed his name? Yeah, to Dick Flasher”) and Heatherton left his sorry ass in a very public way, so OP is way off base there. Regarding legal consequences, I’m not sure how litigation would differ today because I’m not sure exactly what happened to him then or what could happen to a similar offender today. As for football, he was done with Dallas, but yes, moving on to the Rams may not be duplicated today due to the sexual nature of the crime. Assholes today do get second chances (such as Antonio Brown and Kareem Hunt), but I don’t know if you come back from showing your Tiny Lance to a little girl.

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deadshank

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19 hours ago, Texzilla58 said:

It was a big deal at the time but nothing like the reaction would be now. Cowboys had another when Rafael Septien was arrested for molesting a ten year old girl.

I was young when the Rentzel news broke. He was known more for banging super hot Joey heatherton (basis for Lola Heatherton on SCTV). My dad and uncles just made jokes about him being a goddam pervert.
There is a high probability Lance remains a pedophile and has urges to reoffend. They can’t be cured.

Elias Sports Bureau indicates Rafael Septien is still the only NFL player to score before the first period. 

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Texzilla58

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This isn't an absolute. Offenders of all types, sexual and non-sexual, can change. Treatment for sex offenders can be effective, depending on the person, circumstances, treatment modality, etc.

Yeah right. He’s a serial offender. That’s a bent brain. No telling how many other victims he has out there.

Are you going to share the treatment modality that keeps you from reoffending?
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honolulu horn

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10 hours ago, Texzilla58 said:


Yeah right. He’s a serial offender. That’s a bent brain. No telling how many other victims he has out there.

Are you going to share the treatment modality that keeps you from reoffending?

I can't. My probation officer won't let me. 

I wasn't saying anything about that specific serial pedophile. He may well have a bent brain. I was responding to the comment that "they can't be cured," which was true for a long time but is no longer an absolute truth. I work in mental health, and although this isn't my area I have many colleagues on the academic and treatment sides that do good effective work reducing recidivism with sexual offenders. 

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