As I mourn the passing of Darryl Stingley, I smile as tears run unashamedly down my face when I think about the numerous conversations I’ve had over the years with my student athletes. I would ask them, “have you ever heard of Daryl Stingley?” The response 100% of the time would be no! Once I learned the answer that I already knew, I would make Darryl Stingley their homework assignment for the night.
I was happy to see that their curiosity motivated them to find out something about Darryl Stingley. The next day I would see them, and they would have the typical answer for me. They’d say Darryl Stingley was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. He played Wide Receiver for Purdue University, they made sure to mention that to the Big Ten fanatic as I was called, and he played for the New England Patriots. No one ever mentioned “the play” on August 12, 1978 that left Darryl Stingley quadriplegic. So, they asked, “why do I need to know about him?” Why is Darryl Stingley important?
My response would be that the Darryl Stingley lecture is about dreams and the need for a Plan B. You see, all of my student athletes had dreams of going pro. It was what they ate, slept and dreamt about. While I never made light of my students or student athletes’ dreams, I felt as If I would have been an irresponsible educator if I didn’t educate them about the realities of going “pro” and the importance of an education. It was also important for me to illustrate an example to them of a person who realized that dream, and because of an injury needed a Plan B.
I once heard famed Sociologist, Dr. Harry Edwards say, “An African-American male had a better chance at being hit by a shooting star than becoming a star in the NFL, Major League Baseball and the NBA.” I don’t think Dr. Edwards was about killing dreams in making this statement either, but the reality of the situation is that there are only so many teams and too few opportunities.
I do salute my student athletes, who realized their dream (Reagan Upshaw, Tarik Glen, Lamond Murray), but I also salute those of my students, as the commercial says, “who have gone pro in something other than sports.”
Thanks Darryl! May your everlasting light continue to shine brightly upon others.
I was happy to see that their curiosity motivated them to find out something about Darryl Stingley. The next day I would see them, and they would have the typical answer for me. They’d say Darryl Stingley was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. He played Wide Receiver for Purdue University, they made sure to mention that to the Big Ten fanatic as I was called, and he played for the New England Patriots. No one ever mentioned “the play” on August 12, 1978 that left Darryl Stingley quadriplegic. So, they asked, “why do I need to know about him?” Why is Darryl Stingley important?
My response would be that the Darryl Stingley lecture is about dreams and the need for a Plan B. You see, all of my student athletes had dreams of going pro. It was what they ate, slept and dreamt about. While I never made light of my students or student athletes’ dreams, I felt as If I would have been an irresponsible educator if I didn’t educate them about the realities of going “pro” and the importance of an education. It was also important for me to illustrate an example to them of a person who realized that dream, and because of an injury needed a Plan B.
I once heard famed Sociologist, Dr. Harry Edwards say, “An African-American male had a better chance at being hit by a shooting star than becoming a star in the NFL, Major League Baseball and the NBA.” I don’t think Dr. Edwards was about killing dreams in making this statement either, but the reality of the situation is that there are only so many teams and too few opportunities.
I do salute my student athletes, who realized their dream (Reagan Upshaw, Tarik Glen, Lamond Murray), but I also salute those of my students, as the commercial says, “who have gone pro in something other than sports.”
Thanks Darryl! May your everlasting light continue to shine brightly upon others.
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