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tv   Nightline  ABC  February 11, 2014 12:37am-1:08am PST

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tonight on "nightline" -- murdered for loud music? >> oh, my god, somebody's shooting. >> the software developer accused of shooting a teenager because he was blasting hip-hop in a car with friends. >> what did the defendant say? >> "i hate that thug music." >> today his lawyers argued self-defense, but the prosecution says it was cold-blooded murder. this trial a flash point in america's debate over race and guns. >> i'm an openly proud gay man. >> all-american nfl prospect michael sam making history by coming out strong. why he's doing this now, and the very mixed reactions tonight from around the nfl. >> he's bringing baggage into your locker room. >> what super bowl commercial?
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>> and an on-air spanking. how samuel l. jackson reacted when he believed he was mistaken for another black actor. >> a what's in your wallet black guy. >> we'll show you a live and very public lesson that one anchorman will never forget. >> no question about that. >> keep it right here, america. "nightline" is back in just 60 seconds.
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good evening. today the defense started presenting its case in a murder trial that contains a combustible mix of race and guns and is playing out in the same state where trayvon martin died, florida. the accused is a 47-year-old white software developer named michael dunn. the victim, an apparently unarmed black 17-year-old named jordan davis. the alleged motive?
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loud rap music. abc's ryan owens is on the story for our series "crime and punishment." ♪ >> reporter: is it possible this rap song could be a motive for murder? ♪ infrared, yeah, we love them possible that a 17-year-old is dead because he wouldn't turn down the volume? that's the stunning accusation of prosecutors in the state of florida versus michael dunn. >> michael david dunn pointed a semi-automatic pistol at four unarmed kids from a distance much closer than you and i. and then drove off. >> reporter: police say the software developer fired ten shots at that suv, killing jordan davis back in november of 2012. prosecutors rested their case earlier today, ending with graphic testimony from the medical examiner. >> how many separate gunshot wounds did you find to jordan davis's body? >> three gunshot wounds. >> reporter: the m.e. displayed
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jordan davis's clothes for the jury. the bullet-riddled tanktop, the blood-stained t-shirt. >> so right about here is where the bullet entered. >> reporter: noticeably absent for this testimony, davis's parents. they've been here every day, but their civil attorney says they just couldn't sit through this. >> it wasn't until today that they decided that there's a line there and the photographs that came from that was across that line. >> it can't be easy for them to even be in the same room as the man who admits to killing their son. >> it's not. and it hasn't been for the past year. >> reporter: they did watch in dramatic fashion as a firearms expert showed the jury the semi-automatic pistol that ended the teen's life. but the most powerful part of the prosecution's case came from a most unlikely source, michael dunn's fiancee. >> and what did the defendant say? >> "i hate that thug music." >> reporter: rhonda rouer testified those are the last words she heard her fiance say
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before he opened fire on the suv parked right next to him. the couple had stopped at this jacksonville gas station to buy wine after the wedding. she went inside. that's her on the store surveillance tape with a bottle of wine. next, gunfire. [ gunshots ] >> oh, my god, somebody's shooting. somebody's shooting out of their car. >> i heard pop, pop, pop. >> reporter: rouer says she ran outside and dunn told her to get back in the car. >> did you see a firearm at that point in time? >> yes. michael was putting it into the glove box. >> reporter: prosecutors say dunn hit the suv nine times including several shots to the back of the vehicle as the driver was pulling away. rouer was a reluctant witness for the prosecution, sobbing and shaking throughout her testimony that the state hopes will put her fiance away for life. she described how after the shooting dunn left and never called for help. that instead they went to this hotel, ordered pizza, and shared more drinks. rouer testified it was her idea
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to head back to their home in central florida without telling a soul what happened. after seeing the reports of the teenager's death on the news. >> why did you decide that you all needed to go home? >> because i thought i was going to be arrested too. >> reporter: when police did arrest dunn the next day, he told officers he fired in self-defense. >> i was so afraid that i didn't have time to think. i only reacted. >> reporter: that he felt threatened and thought he saw a weapon. >> it was either a barrel or a stick. but sir, there -- they're like, "we're going to kill you." >> reporter: no weapon was ever found in the teenagers' car. still, dunn's attorney says jordan davis was the aggressor and threatened his client. >> "you're dead [ bleep ]." "this is going down now." with a shotgun barrel sticking out of the window. or a lead pipe. whatever it was, it's a deadly
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weapon. >> reporter: this afternoon on day four of this high-profile trial the defense began its case. calling character witnesses to say quite simply dunn is a good guy. >> are you aware of mr. dunn's reputation for peacefulness? >> yes. very nice guy. >> reporter: the defendant's son, chris dunn, took the stand to defend his dad. >> he's my father. >> reporter: the defense showed the jury wedding pictures from the night chris got married. it was just after michael dunn left the reception that the shooting happened. dunn himself has not commented publicly on his side of the story. but since being in jail he has written many letters. they've now been submitted as evidence. in a letter dated july 14th, presumably to his fiancee, he writes, "i just got off the phone with you and we were talking about how racist the blacks are up here. the more time i am exposed to these people the more prejudiced against them i become." in another letter to his grandmother he complains, "the blacks seem to be calling the
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shots in the media and the courts." in yet another letter he acknowledges comparisons to the trayvon martin shooting. "cory, my attorney, says i have a much stronger case of self-defense than zimmerman does." this case does seem to have a lot of parallels to the george zimmerman trial. right down to the prosecutors. >> jordan davis gasping for air. >> reporter: these are the same two who tried to get a conviction against zimmerman. >> i don't see how stand your ground applies there. but in this case, with michael dunn, it's just straight defense. how reasonable was he in reaching into his glove compartment, pulling out a 9-millimeter, and then pulling the trigger not once like george zimmerman but two, three, four, ten times. >> reporter: to make his defense stick, many legal experts believe dunn needs to get up before this jury and explain what happened that night. >> the family wants answers. and only michael dunn can give
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those answers. >> so it seems odd, but they actually want to hear from their son's killer? >> they do. it's unfortunate in america that the young black child doesn't get the benefit of the doubt. >> reporter: the defense says they only have one or two witnesses left. the question remains tonight, will michael dunn be one of them? i'm ryan owens for "nightline" in jacksonville, florida. >> an important case and one we will continue to cover here on abc news. and coming up next here on "nightline," the all-american football player making an announcement sending reverberations through an american bastion of machismo. why michael sam is coming out as the nfl draft approaches. and this question -- is any team ready for a gay player?
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attempting to go where no openly gay man has gone before -- an nfl locker room. his name is michael sam. he's an all-american defensive lineman with a fascinating back story. and ever since he came out on espn's "outside the lines," reaction has been pouring in from across the league. not all of it positive. here's chris connelly. >> sam taking it in for the mizzou touchdown! >> this is just telling someone that hey, i'm gay and that's it. it's nothing -- it's not a big deal to me. >> right there because that's all it takes. >> reporter: it has proven to be a big deal to everyone else. michael sam, now the first openly gay nfl draft prospect, out and proud, he says. speaking with ease about dating another man back at the university of missouri. >> i know what i want. i know that i can have a relationship now with a man. we went out publicly. we had dinners together. movies. holding hands. >> reporter: will others in the nfl have a problem?
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the sports world is keen to see how the league's 32 franchises, not all of them known for cutting-edge social awareness, will deal with an s.e.c. defensive player of the year, a quarterback-sacking force, poised to become the first openly gay player in the history of the league. >> what kind of reaction do you anticipate getting? >> you know, there will be negative reactions all around. i expect it. but there are going to be positive. >> that was michael sam! >> reporter: there are also uncertainties as the pro football world confronts a new reality. many sounding unsure about how they think others might react. >> for me to sit here and say 32 organizations will say no, it doesn't raise a red flag, that wouldn't be the truth. i think some organizations will look at it and ask themselves this question, do we want the drama? do we want the drama of the media blitz that's going to happen when he ariefsz rives on campus? and that's what some teams will wrestle with. >> taken down for a loss by
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michael sam. >> by announcing his sexual orientation before the draft in may, sam defused a whisper campaign that he feels might have commandeered his story. >> why do you think it's important for the nfl to know this about you before the draft? >> once scouts came and asked about me, you know, they told about like michael sam is gay. and but i didn't know how many media actually knew. and i was afraid it would leak out without me actually owning my truth. i wanted to let the world know and tell them hey, i'm gay, let me tell my own story. >> reporter: in fact, as they sought to learn more about the players eligible for the draft this spring, many nfl scouts were already aware that sam was gay. >> agents approached by scouts with questions like what's his girlfriend like? when you spend time with him, are there girls around? there were questions that they didn't get about anybody else. and they realized very quickly that it was the worst-kept secret in football. >> reporter: an official statement from the nfl praised sam for his honesty and courage.
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yet some nfl-ers question if locker rooms were ready for an openly gay man. on "sportscenter" former linebacker antonio pierce said he'd heard from some current players. >> to say that they were -- will be comfortable with it was what i got out of them. i wouldn't be really comfortable. you're watching what you have to say and different things of that nature. remember, this has not been in the locker room in the national football league knowing ever. >> reporter: just before the super bowl in 2013, san francisco 49ers cornerback chris culliver made these comments on the artie lange show. >> i don't do the gay guys, man. i don't do that. >> are there any on the 49ers? >> no. they ain't got no gay people on the team. you know, they got to get up out of there if they do. can't be with that sweet stuff. >> really? is that true? >> yeah, it's true. >> culliver later apologized for the comments and said "they are not how i feel." and in a recent interview with the nfl network jonathan vilma said this about the prospect of having a gay teammate -- >> i think that he would not be
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accepted as -- as much as we think he would be accepted. i don't want people to just naturally assume like oh, we're all homophobic. it's really not the case. i imagine if he's the guy next to me and, you know, i get dressed naked, taking a shower, the whole nine, and it just so happens he looks at me. how am i supposed to respond? >> how prepared do you think you are for what that locker room experience will be like? >> it's a workplace. it's a business workplace. and we have to act professional. and i mean, i know that i am not -- i've never been attracted to my teammates because i don't want that problem. >> reporter: if sam seems unconcerned about the whole thing, it may help to know a little about the obstacles he's already had to overcome. >> there were some hardships. there was some tragedy and some adversity. telling the world i'm gay is nothing compared to that. >> reporter: sam grew up in hitchcock, texas, a small town outside galveston. and to say he had a tough childhood would be a bold
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understatement. >> i endured so much in my past, i -- so much tragedy. and growing up seeing my older brother killed from a gunshot wound. seeing my -- knowing that my oldest sister died when she was a baby and i never got a chance to meet her. my older -- my second oldest brother went missing in 1998 and me and my little sister was the last ones to see him, and we pronounced him dead two years later. >> reporter: in high school sam says he suspected that he might be gay but says he wasn't certain until he got to college. last august he came out to his missouri teammates during a preseason meeting. >> i used the opportunity just to tell them that i was gay. and their reaction was like michael sam finally told us, even though they knew, it was out, it was public, it was news. >> what was it like to tell your teammates at mizzou? >> i was kind of scared even though they already knew, but i was still scared of telling them. and just to see their reaction was awesome. >> reporter: mizzou head coach gary pinkel discussed that on the "mike and mike" radio show.
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>> the next morning he came in and, first of all, i gave him a hug and told him i loved him. and you know, you've got our 100% support. and we have to talk about now, you know, what do you want to do? do you want to come out now? do you want this to -- after the season? you know, after the nfl draft? whatever. what are you thinking here, michael? >> reporter: his teammates were free to share sam's story but did not. >> it's just something that, you know, you kind of -- just kind of figured it out as you got to know michael as a person. it's just something that just kind of -- you know, we became comfortable with as a team. and you know, it was no big deal to us. >> personally, i'd known for a few years. so it wasn't a big deal to me. i still support mike. i love him. he's family. but definitely before the draft i thought it was a big deal for him to come out because that could affect his draft stock. >> reporter: some franchises may not think they can handle an openly gay player. others may worry about sam's size. he is just 6'2". as he transitions to the nfl.
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being picked later in the draft can cost a player millions. all sam wants, he says, is the opportunity to play the game he loves. >> is there a franchise or a city that you might be uncomfortable going to in the draft? >> no. i just want to go to the team who wants -- who drafts me because i know that team knows about me, knows that i'm gay, and also knows that i work hard and am just an awesome person. that's the team i want to go to. >> reporter: for "nightline" i'm chris connelly, espn. >> by the way, jonathan vilma went on cnn today to say that he actually has no problem showering with a gay teammate. coming up next here on "nightline," what happened on live television when samuel l. jackson believes that an anchorman mistook him for another black actor. >> i'm not laurence fishburne! we don't all look alike! when jake and i first set out on our own, we ate anything. but in time you realize the better you eat,
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geico. fifteen minutes could save you...well, you know. you are about to see a live interview go very, very wrong. it involves samuel l. jackson and an apparent case of mistaken identity. the actor was appearing on the
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morning show on the los angeles station ktla to promote his new film "robocop." >> why is america so robophobic? >> but anchor sam rubin wanted to talk about his other work and appeared to put his foot in his mouth. >> the super bowl commercial. did you get a lot of reaction to that super bowl commercial? >> what super bowl commercial? >> jackson reacted quite strongly, believing he had been mistaken for the actor laurence fishburne. >> my mistake. you know what? >> we don't all look alike! >> a mortified rubin attempted to steer the conversation back towards the film. but jackson was having none of it. >> there's more than one black guy doing a commercial. >> there is no question about that. >> i'm the what's in your wallet black guy. he's the car black guy. morgan freeman is the other credit card black guy. you only hear his voice, though. so you probably won't confuse him with laurence fishburne. >> jackson then drove the message home even further with
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more sarcastic comments. >> i've actually never done a mcdonald's or a kentucky fried chicken commercial. >> for now the only commercials you'll recognize him in are for capital one. >> now, tell me. what's in your wallet? >> an embarrassed rubin later profusely apologized on the air, but he couldn't resist adding that jackson appeared in an ad for "captain america" that did indeed run during the super bowl. >> looks like you're giving the orders now, captain. >> for better or worse, it was riveting television. thank you for watching "nightline" tonight. tune in to "gma" first thing in the morning. as always, we're online at
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