T.I. sat down with Vibe magazine and when questioned as to why he did not allow Tiny to take the wrap for his weapons charge in order to prevent him having to go back to the big house, he had the following to say:

On people who say Tiny should have taken the drug charge for him –

“I’ma tell you, 50 Cent and anybody else, we not gonn’a have no discussion about what my ole lady should’a, would’a, couda done for anything as it pertains to me,” begins his rant. “We ain’t gonn’a do that. I’m the only one in my family that’s gonna take a lick when it pertains to the legal system. Since me, none of my other family members have seen a jail cell. Nobody. I’m the last one. The buck stops here. I feel that a person that stands behind [his woman for a criminal charge] is a coward anyway.”

T.I.: That’s a discussion between me and another man. Not with the mother of my children. Not with the nurturer of my household.

Well I’m glad he finally said it. When this situation first occurred there were comments from people like Fifty Cent suggesting that Tiny should take the wrap for T.I. because she does not have a criminal record and would not get any time in jail. The nerve of Fifty Cent and other “men” suggesting that this woman should take the wrap for an act her man committed.

This is what I am talking about when I say that Black society no longer encourages Black men to take care of their women. Somehow it has shifted to the woman sacrificing and placing his needs before her own. We are supposed to be their through thick and thin and commit ourselves to being a ride or die for our men, in hopes that he MIGHT do the same for us. The concept of a man being the one to sacrifice for the greater good of his woman and family is non-existent.

T.I. was undoubtedly the one who committed the offense. What kind of man would he be to expect his woman to take the heat for him? I think he answered it best when he said he would be a coward. He is absolutely right to say that she is the caretaker and mother of his children. Why strip her from the home and her children and send her off to jail for an offense that she did not do? In order to prevent him from doing more time? Hell no. He was man enough to commit the crime then he can be a man and deal with his consequences as he did. I still am no fan of some of the decisions that T.I. has made as of late but I do agree with this particular decision.

There are plenty of women in jail because they decided to “ride” for their men and take the heat for something he did. They are in jail looking like fools. T.I. is the man of the house. His job is to protect her and not to burden her even more with his personal fouls. He made the right choice.