ON THE TUNNEYSIDE of SPORTS November 5, 2012 #409 Coming up next…R-E-S-P-E-C-T!
After further review…The Community Partnership for Youth (CPY) holds an annual event titled “Honoring Those Who Honor Youth” which recognizes adults in our community who give great service to young people. CPY’s custom is to have a student introduce one of the citizens who is to be honored. One student introducer, let’s call him “Dee” now 23, about 6’5” and 230 lbs., quietly and somewhat solemnly, shared his background, “I was raised by my grandmother– I never knew my father, my siblings are from different fathers, and my mother died when I was nine (from a drug overdose). CPY is my family”. Immediately the audiences’ attention was attached. “Dee” has his life working for him now and his introduction of the honoree was flawless.
CPY (www.cpy.org) took hold of Dee’s life with their theme of respect. Here are some words that might define the letters in that word respect: R=revere, showing honor; E=essential, what’s important now; S=smart, the intelligent thing to do; P=pain, overcome emotional hurt; E=eventually, what consequences follow; C=consider another’s feelings; T=tense, your body tells you first. It’s at this point of tenseness where we often lose our temper and focus, loss of self-respect then follows. When all is going well and we are at peace with ourselves, showing respect is easy. When trouble occurs, the challenge becomes maintaining self-control. “Dee” has found his self-control, by learning the value and the results that come from respect.
Such a situation happened in a recent NFL game when Washington Redskins defensive back, DeAngelo Hall (#23) lost all semblance of sanity–read respect–when he thought an official should have called a foul on Hall’s opponent. Hall removed his helmet (h) and began using abusive language towards the official (b)—see NFL Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1, (b), (h). Hall was ejected. A fine from the league, probably in the vicinity of $20,000, will surely follow with a stern warning that similar conduct in the future may mean game suspension. Hall made $8 million for 8 games in 2008 before being released by the Oakland Raiders who felt his performance was not to their liking, so the fine will not hurt much. Maybe D’Hall’s fine money should be donated to CPY to help others like “Dee”.
Will you remember the value of R-E-S-P-E-C-T in tense situations you face?
To contact Jim visit jim@jimtunney.com or email him jim@jimtunney.com
