(ThyBlackMan.com) One of the best moments of the 2023 NFL Draft came on the second day of the draft when the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Joey Porter Jr. with the first pick of the second round. It had to be disappointing for Porter Jr., a former star cornerback at Penn State, not to be selected in the first round and have to wait another day to find out his NFL future. However, that disappointment should be alleviated by the fact that he gets to play for the NFL franchise that drafted his father and where his father had his most NFL success including winning a Super Bowl. It was one of the strong father/son moments of the 2023 NFL Draft along with the Dallas Cowboys drafting former Kansas State running back Deuce Vaughn and allowing his father, who works for the team as a scout, to deliver the news.
Among the reasons that sports are great is the bond that it builds between family members teaching their children about the different sports, cheering for their family members as they progress in sports leagues as adolescents, and even publicly supporting their family members if they are able to reach the highest levels in a professional sports league. During every professional sports draft, including the NFL Draft, it is often family members, along with head coaches at times, who are there supporting and sitting with the young person they raised and reared as they prepare for their dream of becoming a professional athlete to be realized. Once a young person becomes a “professional athlete” their lives are changed more than just financially as they are even more in the public eye than ever before.
Professional athletes aren’t just “athletes”, they are celebrities. It is not surprising to see some of the world’s most famous athletes “hanging out” with celebrities in other categories like movies and music. Because of the fame of some professional athletes, their names can even make headlines if their family members are accused of or commit serious crimes. Last month, Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard’s name made waves beyond his team’s NBA playoff exit. His sister, Kimesha Williams, and another woman, Candace Townsel, were sentenced to life in prison without parole on April 21 for killing an 84-year-old woman, Afaf Assad, in a casino bathroom in 2019. Leonard himself had nothing to do with the terrible act but the story was published on CBSSports.com with the headline, “Kawhi Leonard’s sister sentenced to life in prison for murdering elderly woman”.
Some NFL fans might be familiar with the name “Jackson Mahomes” as he has made headlines before for getting into confrontations with NFL fans at games of his famous brother, NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Now Jackson Mahomes is in the national media spotlight again for far worse reasons as he has been recently arrested on charges of aggravated sexual battery. The story made the front page of ESPN.com with the headline, “Mahomes’ brother charged with sexual battery”. You don’t have to know Patrick Mahomes personally to know that he had to be upset that his brother’s actions threw his name into the media spotlight in a bad way.
Unfortunately, there is little professional athletes can do when the actions of family members garner national media attention because it is impossible to control every aspect of family members’ lives. Professional athletes can just be the best people they can be in terms of character and remember that ALL families have members on the family tree that will unfortunately do some terrible or unflattering things.
Staff Writer; Mark Hines