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Parris Bennett’s ascension to Syracuse’s leading tackler is rooted in Detroit

Related Topics: East English Village

By the argument’s end, one-half of a man’s white T-shirt was bloodied red. A knife stuck out of a shoulder as he sat waiting for an ambulance. A second man was hurt so badly he could barely limp away.

In Detroit’s East English Village neighborhood, a few dozen pairs of eyes saw the altercation, each belonging to the 10-year-old football players practicing across the street. A young Parris Bennett was among them. Detroit made Bennett realize the world is not perfect.

“It’s a place where you don’t necessarily want go back and live, but you’re proud you grew up there,” Bennett said.