Marquis Daniels denies gang accusations

A few days ago, Media Take Out plastered its site with accusations that Marquis Daniels was a member of the bloods because he posted pictures of red clothing and he occasionally replaced the letter "c" with a "k".  

They followed it up with a picture of Quisy and a red bandanna and pretty much called that proof that they were right. Today, Marquis tells SLAM that's not true.

SLAM: So what’s with the red bandana and gang signs in the pictures? Are you really in a gang?

Marquis Daniels: Of course not. The rag wasn’t mine. You want to know why I wear a lot of red? It’s simple. I think I look good in red. It looks good on me. So just because I like the color red that makes me affiliated? That makes no sense to me.

SLAM: What about the messages where you allegedly replaced the letter “C” with the letter “K?”
MD: That’s absurd, too. Who doesn’t shorten words in their text messages? And to say I replace the letter “C” with the letter “K” is crazy. Where are they getting that from? People are always searching for something negative to say. To even say that I’m in a gang is absurd. I would never put myself in that kind of situation. I respect myself, my family and my fans, especially the kids who look up to me, too much for that.

SLAM: What do you say to people who say that you at least know gang members?
MD: Look, I grew up in a rough neighborhood and I stayed away from stuff like that. My mom worked hard when I was growing up and it made me want to work hard. So when I got to college, I did what I needed to do to graduate in less than four years and kept at it when I didn’t get drafted to accomplish my dream of playing in the NBA. Watching my Mom made me want to be strong and go even harder. So now that I’ve made it, I like to go back to my neighborhood and show those that got caught up in the streets or didn’t make it out that there’s another way. I want to inspire people. There aren’t many players coming back to my neighborhood so I wanted to do that. I want to help. That’s why I always go to the schools and talk to kids. That’s why I sponsor AAU teams and help kids get scholarships. I got my degree in sociology because I wanted to help kids. I love kids. I have kids of my own. So for me, when I see kids light up when I come to the rec centers and they tell me that I inspire them, that’s everything.

Marquis seems like a decent guy.  I've never heard of him getting into any kind of trouble.  He's never been a disruptive force on this team.  There's not a single warning sign out there that would lead us to believe any of the accusations are true or that Quisy is lying.  You don't graduate early with a sociology degree if you're running with that crowd.

You can look at the so-called "evidence" yourself.  I hate having to post the gossipy crap… but since he took the time to respond, I figured we might as well.