Three young men on one of my football teams, representing three different ethnic groups, have a conversation. The topic is raw and is centered around ethnicity... or what most people refer to as "race". So raw, I would rather leave that specific out.
These three guys have this conversation. There is resolution. There is education. There is understanding. There is gaining the perspective of someone from another ethnic group. In a very practical sense.... there is the prevention of something really bad happening.
So, why do these three guys have this conversation that would make most adults cringe? They are teammates. They have sweat, bled, and competed together. They have experienced great joy on the field and disappointing heartbreak. They have been there for each other when one is fighting an injury. They have continued to workout and practice hard, when they don't feel like it, because they refuse to let down their teammates. They have a relationship that makes those conversations safe.
This is not a plea to get football back at all costs. Absolutely not. My hope is that we find a way to go to school, play athletics, AND most importantly protect the vulnerable.
It is to say that a football program reaps real rewards that go way beyond a Friday night. The same things that make football difficult are the things that make football great. Those difficulties, when attacked together, by a group of young men, build a unique bond that transcends ethnicity as well as socioeconomic barriers. And, football cannot be a GREAT experience without the difficulties that are part of the game.
For the most part, if kids are in a lockerroom together and left alone, they work stuff out. They are fine.
Over the years, one of the most rewarding things for me as a coach, is when one of my players, when talking about one of his teammates, will say that teammate's attitudes on ethnicity changed for the better after four years in our program. The diversity in our lockerroom and on our staff contributed
to that growth. When that happens, that is a game changer for that young man's life, for his own children in the future, and the community as a whole.
We started a breakfast program here in Mercer County Schools in the spring of 2019. It gives our youngest students an opportunity to have positive experiences and interactions before their heads are filled with lies and hate in regards to ethnicity. Our guys love doing this. They understand how they are helping to build the future. The little kids are in awe of these HS football players. In a lifetime of being in public schools, these breakfasts have been one of the highlights and most effective programs, ever.
My Mom and Dad taught me right and wrong. They said all the right things. But, at the end of the day, my perspective on ethnicity came from the guys on my Dad's football teams at Boyle County HS in the early 70's. Their character and the way the treated me, made it real easy, the rest of my life, to recognize lies, bigotry and falsehoods.
Trosper has told me, more or less, if the adults will just leave us alone, we'll be fine. Kids still need their parents, grandparents, coaches, teachers, and mentors. But, I get the point he is trying to make and there is some truth to what he says.
At some point, those Friday night lights will be back on. Those lights are cutting through the darkness, both literally and figuratively.
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