Wilson Ramos Kidnapped: Horrible Case Shows Why Athletes Need Personal Security

Penn State has dominated the sports world this week. To a lesser extent, we've also gotten a heavy dose of NBA lockout. Things are not getting any better, as Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos was kidnapped in Venezuela. 

ESPN detailed that while this is the first time this has happened to an athlete in Venezuela, it's not the first time that it's happened to someone close to an athlete.

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In November 2009, the 56-year-old mother of Victor Zambrano, who retired after a seven-year major league career, was rescued in a commando-style operation three days after she was kidnapped. The former pitcher's cousin, Richard Mendez Zambrano, had been kidnapped a few days earlier, and was later killed.

In June 2009, Colorado Rockies catcher Yorvit Torrealba's brother-in-law and 11-year-old son were kidnapped and released a day later.

The mother of former player Ugueth Urbina, who was a two-time All-Star pitcher while playing for six teams, spent more than five months in captivity until she was rescued in early 2005.

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And that's just Venezuela. 

In 2008, receiver Steve Smith, then on the New York Giants, was robbed at gunpoint.

The year before, the Redskins' Sean Taylor had his home broken in to. He was shot and eventually died from those wounds.

Athletes are targets. That's not to say that any of these individual situations came because the victim was an athlete or the family member of an athlete, but they are in the spotlight, make money, and people go after them.

As a general rule, this does not describe the general public in the U.S.A., Venezuela, or any country. But it doesn't need to describe the general population.

So, what's the remedy? Well, there isn't a permanent one. But these athletes need to have security with them if they are even in remotely vulnerable situations.

They need to travel in big groups of trustworthy people. Quite frankly, they just can't be even remotely vulnerable in public situations.

The Washington Post's Adam Kilgore is reporting that as of now, it's been confirmed that Ramos is still alive. 

Obviously, we hope it stays that way. But one way or the other, this needs to be a final straw for athletes.

They are well known people and for many reasons, they are targets. It's their responsibility to surround themselves with people who will minimize that target. 

Yes, it's sad that we're in that situation, but it's reality.