Ray Lewis urges fathers not to be like his father

[papasmurfbell]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/07/14/ray-lewis-urges-fathers-not-to-be-like-his-father/

 

Before Ray Lewis became an All-Pro linebacker, he was a baby boy named Ray Jenkins, whose father abandoned him. Now that he’s retired from his Hall of Fame career, one of Lewis’s priorities is opening up about his childhood and urging other fathers not to be like his father.

In a speech on Saturday at a Texas church, Lewis said there’s no excuse for fathers not to be involved in their children’s lives. And Lewis said he still can’t understand how his father to leave him as a newborn, and leave his 15-year-old mother alone with a baby to care for and medical bills.

“I started to learn the story, and it baffled me,” Lewis said, via the Dallas Morning News. “The world is too crazy to leave a man by himself.”

His mom later started dating a man named Ray Lewis, and Lewis took that man’s last name. In his speech, Lewis urged men in the audience to take it upon themselves to raise their boys.

“I don’t care how good a mom is, how awesome she is, how spiritual she is. She can never teach a man to be a man,” he said.

Lewis said one of the reasons he decided to retire this year was to be sure he could attend every one of the college football games played by his son, an incoming freshman at Miami named Ray Lewis III.

 

 

[deeshopper]

You know what? The article makes a point to state how old his mother was. How old was the father? Maybe that played a role. Let's try this: I urge men not be like Lewis and have two, three, four, or five baby mamas. Let's start there first.

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True. But at least he is taking responsibility. He is using his platform to tell other men to do the same. I thik that is a good thing.

[deeshopper]

Or maybe he's taking responsibility because he has the means to do so.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjIKt6EnY4U

[varaven45]

You know what? The article makes a point to state how old his mother was. How old was the father? Maybe that played a role. Let's try this: I urge men not be like Lewis and have two, three, four, or five baby mamas. Let's start there first.

Well said Dee. I think Ray is better off commenting on his on-field performance which was obviously exceptional.

[vmax]

I'm with you Dee.

I don't know how many women he has children with, but when you start hitting 3 or more you can't say that you are a role model on relationships or parenting. That is not a positive message for his children.

He should tell young men "Not to be like me and father so many children by different women."

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Hey I have said he was cash poor because he had to many kids by to many women. That said he takes a personal interest in his kids. There are many guys who could not be interested in theri kids in any way.

[deeshopper]

Hey I have said he was cash poor because he had to many kids by to many women. That said he takes a personal interest in his kids. There are many guys who could not be interested in theri kids in any way.

 

Which is great. Let's not applaud people for doing what's their supposed to do.

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OK. But he is asking other men to do the same. That seems like a pretty decent thing to me.