I wasn’t supposed to write this article- in fact, I was actively discouraged by someone I love in the deepest way. “You can’t write an article about (SF 49ers coach) Mike Singletary’s firing," said Tony Robles, POOR Magazine’s co-editor and dedicated fan. I just didn't understand the basic tenets of football, winning rules all, i was informed. and he wasn't "winning".
But here I am, because some things must be said. Mike Singletary shouldn’t have been fired. He is a great and loyal son, a loving and wonderful father and a dedicated and true husband. I hear the minions of football expert’s reading this shaking their heads in disgusted wonder collectively saying “Sooooo.....what’s that got to do with football?" Well, maybe nothing, but it has to do with character and love and integrity and warmth and hope. And aren’t those important traits to have in football?
Don’t’ you need to have integrity to be trusted by your team? Love and honor to be trusted by the management? And warmth and caring for all people to be respected by the fans?
Perhaps no. After-all US football is a multi-milllion dollar corporate enterprise fueled by capitalist values of "in with the old- out with the new" and, "nothing matters except winning" There is no space, time or budget for feelings, loving your mama, your wife or your children.
Its true I just got involved in football three years ago when Tony took me to a superbowl party. He painstakingly showed me what all the scores meant for each season, he described what a “play" was and why it was important. He ran down the reasons that some teams win and some teams lose. He even went so far as to compare my leadership in the work I do with family and community with some famous quarterbacks. He and his best friend are consummate and dedicated fans and I have to say through his eyes, I began to love the sport. Which is why I had to weigh in on the recent firing of Mike Singletary
Before I even knew his personal story, there was something about Singletary that I liked He seemed to be real in a way that reached beyond the corporate veneer of US Football and touched my heart. And my mama raised me to listen deeply to my heart. Then I read a story about him being the youngest son of 10 children of a single mama who struggled to raise her children alone, with brothers in struggle in the criminal Injustice system and Singletary's deep respect and love of his mama and his elders. Add to all of that he is dedicated to his wife, his children and works hard and consistently to portray an image of a decent and spiritual man in a corporate media/ crafted sports world that often glamorizes young men and especially young men of color as absent fathers with substance use issues and multiple babymamas
Which is why I feel so bad about his recent firing. How much is integrity and honor worth in the world of football? Very little, I guess. So I am weighing in with a different football proposal. How about keeping him on as a coach and hiring a co-coach. How about bringing all the football scholars in the 49ers together and collectively thinking through how to win the next season and the next and the next. How bout bringing football closer to its indigenous roots of rugby and other early forms of football that were competitive but also operated with deep rooted cultural ideology and ethics
I know, I have seen those really mean, rock faced guys who are in the hall of fame and are seen as the “best” coaches of all time, but in a world where so many young folks are dealing with violence, peer pressure, drugs, and superficial pop culture empty-ness, how important is it to value, honor and uphold a man of color who struggled through poverty and a racist US culture to become a great father, son, husband and dare I say it, a great human.?