Lawman makes mark with Redskins

New Orleans and its Saints have added new chapters to their colorful histories since Hurricane Katrina struck more than four years ago. Perhaps not as dramatically but just as steadily, so has Washington Redskins offensive lineman D’Anthony Batiste.

A reserve, Batiste is expected to be in uniform Sunday when the Saints try to remain unbeaten against the Redskins at FedEx Field. He might not play much, but that’s of little consequence.

Once he used to chase and catch bad guys. Now he has chased and caught his dream.

“I’m definitely a journeyman,” he said. “And I’ve found a home here with the Redskins.”

In the wake of Katrina’s devastation of New Orleans and much of the Gulf Coast in August 2005, Batiste was working for the Lafayette (La.) Parish Sheriff’s Office assisting the homeless and the dispossessed. With his football life on hold, this was real life.

“It was people who were displaced by the storm and just were in shambles,” he said. “It was like being rejected by their city.”

Among the displaced were the Saints. They vacated the Superdome and played their home games in Baton Rouge, La., and San Antonio. It was yet another bizarre occurrence for a team that has suffered more downs than ups since entering the NFL in 1967, a team whose fans were the first to wear paper bags over their heads out of frustration.

The Saints went 3-13 amid the chaos, which included team owner Tom Benson toying with moving the team to San Antonio. But the Saints stayed put, hired Sean Payton as coach and turned things around. Now here they are, restored, rejuvenated and 11-0, favored to reach the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history.

Batiste’s career arc hasn’t quite mirrored the Saints’ success, but he also has come a long way. Undrafted out of Louisiana-Lafayette, his football resume includes a half-season with an Arena 2 outfit called the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings and stays of various lengths in Canada, Dallas, Atlanta, Carolina and now Washington.

“I took a long road to get here,” he said. “A very long road.”

During a lull in his football career in 2004, Batiste became the father of twins and needed a steady income.

“I had to make a decision: if I was gonna still pursue my dream,” he said, meaning football, “or if I was gonna step up to the plate and be a man.”

A criminal justice major, Batiste began working as a sheriff’s deputy.

“I was there on the streets, working with a lot of juveniles, working with a lot of troubled cases, chasing down criminals,” he said. “I mean, foot chase, drug busts - the whole nine yards.”

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