Years before Jake Velox (Swift Fox, G) was suspended for uttering the word during a match, he said it at an interview. This was well before his current fame, when he was a young sophomore struggling to make a name for himself. I had asked him who he admired in the league, and he listed a number of terrific players— but not a single fox.

When I asked him about fox stars like Barton Rouge (Red Fox, G) and his fellow 2006 draft pick, Leonard Mack (Fox, F/C), he soured. He said something about them being solid players and all, but not anyone to admire. Then he dropped a name I remembered from the draft that year, Victor Vos (Red Fox, G). He said something very unflattering. When I asked him what was wrong with the young guard from North Carolina, he rolled his eyes at me.

“He’s one of those foxes,” he muttered.

I just peered, not sure what he meant. Jake looked both ways, then leaned in. “You know. A slinger.”

Few foxes live in the part of California I grew up in, so I was never that familiar with fox culture. Of course, I saw plenty of them on television and in movies, but it never occurred to me that someone would have a problem with the attractive, russet-furred canids usually hawking clothing, hot new cars or chicken wings. But it was impossible not to notice in college. There I found lots of foxes, easily the largest group of feral canids, far outnumbering coyotes like myself. Specifically, red foxes. And I know I’m wading into dangerous territory with this article, but while I did make good friends with a few of my red fox classmates, it was clear, many of them preferred to stick to their own.

You could see the clusters of vixens in the quad, every class had a russet side in the seating, and every time a car passed packed with drunk partiers, it always seemed to be foxes. I came to understand the grumblings I would hear from my wolf and coyote classmates, but no one growled louder than the non-reds, the grey, the arctic, the kit and fennec foxes who occasionally muttered how much they hated sharing a species name with the loud, arrogant reds. It wasn’t hard to agree with them.

I first heard the S-word back then, but never in the presences of red foxes. And even among my friends, it was something only reserved for the worst of the worst. The fox jock who just loved to interrupt class with stupid, loud questions. The vixen who just couldn’t stop talking about how much her new purse cost. Any fox who wouldn’t shut up about how much sex she was getting, or how gay he was, or how everyone else needed to learn to accept his or her ways. Those were slingers. And sadly, back in college, it wasn’t hard to find them.

The working world has a way of weeding furs out, and the FBA is no different. If a red fox point guard is more interested in his winning smile and keeping his tail brushed than his fundamentals, he’s not getting picked up in the draft. And that’s why athletes like Zak Pejovic (Red Fox, F/C, retired) and Vicki Turner (Red Fox, F, retired) had long, successful careers and deserve their place among the league’s greats. And why young talent like Raul Zuleta (Red Fox, G) and Vera La Tiérra (Red Fox, G) have a shot at making it big in the FBA. So a lot of the ugly behavior I saw in college I didn’t encounter as much once I was covering the pros.

But then there’s Rennie. I knew what Velox was talking about, because I had sat down with Vic Vos at the draft. It was hard to forget the fox who rolled into the draft wearing sunglasses and gold chains, decked in a white suit with the sleeves and legs rolled up mid-way. That was to show off his “gloves” and “socks”, usually dark brown on a fox, but on him, a glittering white to match the suit. When I asked about it, Vos just shook his head, muttered something about “taking a dip, man” and left it at that. I figured it might be some genetic thing I’d never encountered before. But a vixen editor for Furballer explained that some foxes dip their hands and feet in bleach to turn their gloves and socks white. It’s called a “snow dip”, and it’s done just for vanity. It certainly was for Vos, who got to strut in front of the cameras in his rolled suit, his dark shades, and his snow-dipped paws when he was selected by the Spirits.

It wasn’t long before Vos released a press statement about dropping a new hip hop album in the coming off-season. I should have seen that coming. His rookie year was spent doing everything he could to get on the highlight reels. There was no fundamentals for Vos. Everything was a flashy dunk or an ankle-breaking dribble move. Plenty of foxes play bare-pawed because it tightens up their game. He did it to show off the snow. Granted, he got what he wanted. The 2007-2008 season was full of amazing highlights from Vos. It was also full of below-average stats. Which is why he only got a 1-year extension at the end of his contract. Hey, at least he got that.

And that just made him worse. When he didn’t get the money he was expecting— or the sales from his album— he became the biggest sell-out in the L. Soon every one of those clothing, new car and chicken wings ads featured the white-pawed fox from Greensboro. And he must have been hard to work with, because near the end of the season, those ads all dried up and he started hawking fur brushes. Tick collars. Rabalin. His heart just wasn’t in it anymore.

Guys like Vos are supposed to vanish in a few years. They finally have just enough success selling out or recording rap albums or being enough of a public figure to land a role on reality television (still waiting for that one) that they allow the FBA to toss them like they should. But then something happened. When things got bleak and he was desperate for a contract, he changed agents. And he changed his game. Since he pulled down a humble contract with the Whips, he’s been a changed fox, dropping the act, no longer hawking goods, now just playing his game. And the fact is, no one gets to do flashy dunks and killer crossover moves without having some talent. He just needed to focus it. And in a surprise to everyone, Vos has earned himself a starting role on a well-oiled Whips team. And that’s why after years of avoiding him, I made time to sit down and talk with the reformed fox. And it’s a fascinating story.

I’d love to ask Velox again what he thinks of Vos, now that he’s changed his tune. I’m not sure if the swift will, though.

Vos still has white paws, after all.

--T.Matt.L

Read T. Matt's full article on page 19

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Cover art by the amazing  asterionblazing!

Santa Fe Whips jersey designed by  jtigerclaw

Vera La Tiérra created by  jtigerclaw

Zak Pejovic and Raul Zuleta created by  sam-gwosdz

Vicki Turner created by  kitana

Listen to the Rabaln ad featuring Vic Vos played by  kitana, written by  dorallizard - http://www.furaffinity.net/view/5141308/

Shane Rufus appearing courtesy of  shanerufus
Dirk Von Stryker created by  mrinitialman