On this edition of the Friday Sports Dump we revisit “bring your daughter to work day” in the NBA and an NFL hopeful looking for stability and a place to call home.
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Sometime well past my son’s bed time, baby faced Steph Curry stepped up to the podium with a baby faced companion. The only difference between the two was that one was 27, and the other was 2.
We could spend all day talking about the media’s reaction and the supposed disrespect to the “sanctity of the post game” as one journalist put it. But let’s not.
Instead, we can talk about how in the face of so many commentators blaming the civil unrest around our country on absentee fathers, one father chose to spend what little time he has away from his job, with his daughter.
Instead of asking why Curry brought his daughter to the post game interview, we should be asking why don’t more players do the same?
According to the National Fatherhood Initiative, a study involving 134 children of adolescent mothers examining father involvement over the first 10 years of life, researchers found that father-child contact was associated with better socio-emotional and academic functioning. The results indicated that children with more involved fathers experienced fewer behavioral problems and scored higher on reading achievement.
This is not an attack on the single mothers who wear both hats and sacrifice their life for the betterment of the children. I have lived in that household, and I am a success because of the hard work my mom put in to make sure my sister and I had everything a kid could dream. What we are talking about is every second either parent uses to spend with their child is a step to a better life for that child.
Two years ago, as I held my son in my arms for the first time, something clicked. I couldn’t care less about anything outside of my family. I would sacrifice it all to make sure my family stayed healthy, happy and in tact. I don’t care what you think about my professionalism, I don’t care what you say about my parenting. My wife and I decided long time ago we are going to do what’s best for our child, and while I thank you for your opinion, you’re not going to affect the way I raise him.
If I was in the position of Curry, away for my family for days sometimes months, any chance I got to hold my son, I would do it. In the shower, at the grocery store, at the DMV, any place, any time when I needed those little arms to wrap around my shoulders and his warm sweet breath to tickle my neck, damn to all of you.
I understand people have a job to do. I understand that sometimes a kid can be a nuisance. Your job, however is to get the story. You have spent your career taking canned cliches and making them some what enticing. You can jump over the hurdle of a cute 2-year-old playing hide and seek under the podium.
I wish more professional players brought their kids to these pressers. I wish more reporters, instead of complaining about not getting the quotes needed to produce a story, change the narrative and do a story on players making the most of their time with their children. And for the love of everything cute and cuddly, those kids are, how do i say it, adorbs.
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Indianapolis Colts Rookie Josh Robinson doesn’t have memories of his dad bringing him to work. Robinson’s lucky if he has any good memories of family members.
Robinson has the number 23 tattooed on his chest, but it’s not for Chicago’s favorite basketball player. It’s a helpful reminder of a stark reality for the former Mississippi State running back.
May 23, 2004: Robinson’s grandmother died.
May 23, 2005: His grandfather died.
Feb. 23, 2011: His mother was sentenced to 18 years in jail.
It’s amazing Robinson would have the number tattooed on on his chest, let alone part of his day-to-day life. No one would fault Robinson for treating the number much like skyscrapers treat the number 13 and just avoid the digits all together.
But Robinson has been overcoming insurmountable odds all his life.
The running back spent the first 11 years of his life under the watchful eyes of his grandmother, Gwendolyn Robinson Brown. When she died of a heart attack at 51, Robinson bounced around from foster to foster home until the instability was too much for him.
“I got tired of it,” Robinson said. “Other people’s rules and not everybody is raised the same.”
At 16 years old, Robinson wasn’t planning his future with a guidance councilor, he was taking destiny and putting it in his hands and his Nissan Maxima. Unbeknownst to anyone, Robinson lived in his car for the next 6 months, eating breakfast and lunch at school while taking whatever he could scrounge up from the cafeteria back to his car for dinner.
His time living in his car would pay off as he would earn a scholarship to Mississippi State and become the starting running back in 2014.
On the last day of this year’s NFL Draft, in the second to last round, the Colts selected him to compete for the backup running back role. By all indications he has a very good shot of making the team.
“God takes you through things to make you the person who you are,” Robinson said. “If I didn’t go through them I wouldn’t be me. I probably wouldn’t be in this position. At the end of the day I’m here.”
For Robinson, he might have finally found a home worth holding on to.
Vine of the Week:
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Photo Credit: Screengrab
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