Guest Author - Vance Rowe

It was with a sad heart that I report on the death of a nine year old boy and it is unclear if it has anything to do with kids imitating professional wrestlers. My deepest condolences and prayers to go out to the family and friends of the young boy.

Damori Miles fell to his death, when he leaped off of the roof of a thirteen story apartment building on April 14th approximately around 7 PM. Miles was able to get out onto the roof of the Bergen St. apartment building. The door alarm was broken and did not sound when he opened it and went out onto the roof. The Daily News reports that the boy’s favorite video game was Smack Down vs. Raw on the Playstation 2 video game console.

The newspaper also reports that the boy was found on the ground with his clothes ripped off and a plastic bag with string wrapped around his body. He was apparently using the bag as a makeshift parachute. It is reported that the boy, Damori Miles, was imitating a move from the video game. He was thought to have been performing a high risk maneuver called the Swanton Bomb as performed by WWE super star, Jeff Hardy. However, nowhere in the video game does Jeff Hardy perform his move off a building nor does he use a parachute in the video game either.

So, before the WWE gets sued or blamed for this, let’s ask who is really to blame here. Should a nine year old boy know the difference from reality and entertainment? Are the boy’s parents to blame for not knowing where there nine year old boy is in New York City at 7 o’ clock in the evening? Is the apartment building owner responsible for not having the door properly secured shut when the alarm system was not working? How about the stunt shows and reality shows on television that show parachutists performing crazy stunts?

This terrible tragedy could have easily been avoided and no one person is to blame. The WWE is trying to become more “family friendly” on TV and their website, but, their wrestlers still do perform high risk maneuvers and shed blood on television. The mother of the boy should have known where he was. The door to the roof should have been chained and locked shut until the alarm was fixed and the alarm should have been fixed if the owner of the building knew it was not. Most video games today are filled with violence and blood shed so no one video game can be blamed either.

PARENTS!!! TALK TO YOUR KIDS ABOUT THE TELEVISION PROGRAMS AND MOVIES THEY WATCH, THE VIDEO GAMES THEY PLAY AND THE INTERNET WEBSITES THEY VISIT!!

KIDS!!!! DON’T TRY TO IMITATE ANY STUNT OR ANY WRESTLING MOVE THAT YOU SEE ON TELEVISION OR IN VIDEO GAMES!!!!

IT COULD COST YOU YOUR LIFE AND DARKEN THE LIVES OF OTHERS AROUND YOU