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<\/p>\nMother\u2019s Day has a special meaning for Ottawa REDBLACKS receiver Eugene Lewis.<\/p>\n
Until a few years back, though, he didn\u2019t know how much it really meant to his mom, Regina Hughes \u2013 how she felt so connected to the day.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery year, I\u2019d call her, I\u2019d send her flowers, and she was always super emotional,\u201d said Lewis. \u201cThen she told me why, she told me the story. When I was born, on April 20, (1993), I was three months early. I had to be in an incubator. They let my mom take me home on Mother\u2019s Day. So the day is special in her heart.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adding context to the story: Without transportation, she walked home an hour from Norristown\u2019s Suburban Community Hospital with her baby cradled in her arms. A special memory. A special day.<\/p>\n
The story of Lewis\u2019 connection to his mother is heartwarming. The story of his relationship with his father, Eugene Sr. (Junie), is more complicated. But over the years, the pieces of the puzzle have been connected, their relationship has been strengthened. Through the good times and bad, Lewis has found love for those around him, especially his mother and father, who were never married.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s also found motivation and a drive that have made him an elite receiver. In his eight CFL seasons, he\u2019s blown past 1,000 yards in receptions four times. Two other times, he would have had more than 1,000 yards, but injuries got in the way.<\/p>\n
But let\u2019s get back to his mother, a long-time nurse and caregiver in the Philadelphia area.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mom is my best friend, one of the people I could always confide in, talk to,\u201d said Lewis, who has \u201cRegina\u2019s Son\u201d tattooed on one of his fingers. \u201cTo me, she\u2019s the best woman in the world.<\/p>\n
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\u201cShe\u2019s got a big, big personality. If anybody needs something, she\u2019ll help. If somebody needs to eat or needs a place to stay, she\u2019s there. She\u2019s got one of the biggest hearts. You have to be a special person to do what she does. The main thing for her was always to make sure her kids were successful. I would do anything for my mom. Anything she needs, she\u2019s going to get from me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Regina grew up in Philly\u2019s Roxborough area. Being the oldest child in a big family wasn\u2019t easy; with that came a lot of responsibility. She was forced to grow up fast.<\/p>\n
Asked about his mom\u2019s hobbies, Lewis points out that Regina is a great cook. He lights up when he talks about her salmon cakes and pies.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything I learned about cooking is from my mother,\u201d he said. \u201cAs a kid, I used to watch her cook. My mom usually doesn\u2019t let anybody in the kitchen while she\u2019s cooking; she doesn\u2019t want anybody getting in the way. But I could watch, and I knew how to get out of the way.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Lewis was young, his mom enrolled him in sports, mostly to try to keep him out of trouble. So many kids in the neighbourhood made bad decisions. Regina wanted Eugene to be different.<\/p>\n
They moved around, and there were drugs, knives and guns in the neighbourhoods. But Lewis kept his focus mostly on sports. And he learned lessons that would do him well later in life.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven when you\u2019re in a good area, there are still bad things that can happen; a lot of people don\u2019t get that,\u201d said Lewis. \u201cIt isn\u2019t being in a good area or a bad area that matters. What matters are the decisions you make. I have a lot of friends who ended up in jail, I\u2019ve had friends who ended up dying. A lot of it was the decisions they made or being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I knew I wanted more, I knew I needed more. I wasn\u2019t perfect, but I always knew there was a bigger picture.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother and father always told me, \u2018We don\u2019t want you to go through the same things that we went through. You\u2019ve already seen the bad, so if you want better, it\u2019s there for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the time, Eugene Sr. was struggling. A helluva athlete and a second-round selection by the Utah Jazz in the 1989 NBA Draft, he was devastated after being cut in training camp. His outlet became booze and drugs.<\/p>\n
The crack epidemic was, at the time, very much a thing.<\/p>\n
Said Lewis: \u201cMy mom would tell me, \u2018I knew people who had everything going for them, everything was good. Then, a week or two after doing those types of drugs, they look like a completely different person; their whole life has completely changed.\u2019 I had to deal with that with my father for a good majority of my young life. But my mom would never bash my father, she would never tell me he was a bad person, or that he didn\u2019t deserve us. She\u2019d say, \u2018He\u2019s going through something right now, and he doesn\u2019t need to be around you.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
To fund his addiction, Eugene Sr. would take the kids\u2019 toys, gaming systems pots and pans, whatever he could get his hands on around the house.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe might come in during the middle of the night, take a PlayStation and go sell it for a rock of crack,\u201d said Lewis. \u201d You\u2019d wake up and not know what happened, and we\u2019d be trying to figure it out. As a kid, you don\u2019t really understand. When you get older, you realize how bad it really was. My mom would hide it; she didn\u2019t want us to know about it, she didn\u2019t want us traumatized. She called the cops at one point, and the police told him not to be around or they\u2019d take him to jail. My mom knew he had a good heart, but she knew the state he was in and didn\u2019t want us to be around him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew he was a drug addict, but you don\u2019t know how bad it is. When you\u2019re seven or eight years old, you don\u2019t understand it. There were times where my dad would pick me up and we\u2019d end up being in crack houses and stuff like that that I shouldn\u2019t have been in. There were times when there were gun shootouts in the middle of the street while we were walking around, and we\u2019d have to duck behind cars. Thank God my mom didn\u2019t know about some of the places he took me to at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n
But there was an awakening, a life-changing moment for the senior Lewis, who had moved a couple of hours northwest to Scranton\/Wilkes-Barre. The father went to rehab at the Salvation Army. Then, while attending church one day, he was struck by a sermon by Bishop Wallace E Smith.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy dad said that changed him, it changed his life,\u201d said Lewis. \u201cHe\u2019d always had God in him. But he was able to discipline himself. He got married. My mom saw he was making positive changes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eugene started spending time with his father in the summers. Then, when Lewis was 12, he moved to live with his father.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst, (my mom) needed my dad to get there, to get to where he had gotten to in his life,\u201d said Lewis. \u201cShe didn\u2019t want to let go of her baby. There were some things my mom couldn\u2019t teach me. There were some things I needed to see and hear from my father. My dad told my mom that when kids turn 13 or 14, they need a father figure. It needed to happen, but I didn\u2019t know if I wanted to give my mother up; that was the hard part. Some people might say, \u2018It\u2019s not fair, you didn\u2019t get to choose.\u2019 But if I had gotten to choose, I might not have made the right decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was more strict with my father. With my mom, I could get away with certain things. With my father, if I messed up, even if it wasn\u2019t my fault \u2026 it was my fault. I started to have more accountability. I realized I couldn\u2019t make excuses, I had to be aware of my surroundings, I had to be sober about what was going on. That got me into locking in and focusing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had chores, I was doing dishes, I was putting out the trash. When it snowed, I had to do the driveway. In the summer, I couldn\u2019t go out on weekends until I cut the grass; and it had to be straight. If it wasn\u2019t, I had to cut it again.\u201d<\/p>\n
The younger Lewis was a sponge; he was also a terrific athlete. He played football for Penn State from 2012-15, then transferred to Oklahoma in 2016. He was with the Montreal Alouettes from 2017-22, then spent two seasons in Edmonton, before joining the REDBLACKS as a free agent in 2025. With 47 touchdowns and 7,273 yards in catches, he\u2019s a three-time CFL all-star.<\/p>\n
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\u201cMy dad was one of the main people who brought my competitive nature out in me; he was never easy on me,\u201d said Lewis. \u201cHe would challenge me, he\u2019d try to put me in an uncomfortable position.\u201d<\/p>\n
With a strong belief in God and with faith in his corner, Eugene Lewis Jr. uses all the tools he\u2019s been given as he pushes ahead in his quest to be the best he can be. He wants to succeed, and he knows when that happens, it will help the REDBLACKS.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to be great,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to win this Grey Cup, I want to help my teammates be successful. I want to make it to the Hall of Fame. You have to show up when it\u2019s time to show up. You have to be able to go out and earn respect. My mom got me started in football to keep me out of trouble, and here I am today.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not everybody\u2019s cup of tea; I\u2019m one of the most elite competitors you\u2019ll meet. Growing up, it was win, win, win. Somebody\u2019s going to win, somebody\u2019s going to be embarrassed. Which one do you want to be? I don\u2019t like losing at Uno. If we\u2019re racing to see who can drink the juice pouch the fastest, I don\u2019t want to lose. I understand what comes from losing; I learn from it. But I hate losing more than I love winning. I hate to see people around me losing, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never wanted to be mediocre. I live to do great things; I live to help make other people great. I don\u2019t want the bare minimum if I know I can do more. To be the best, you have to work harder than everyone. You have to do the extra stuff. You have to show you\u2019re doing it for the love of the game, not for the money.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt takes maturity and discipline to be successful. If you aren\u2019t disciplined enough, there\u2019s somebody who will work harder, somebody who wants it more than you. I always made sure I didn\u2019t allow somebody to want it more than me.\u201d<\/p>\n
And there\u2019s one more big message in all that Lewis does on the football field and the way he carries himself off it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to motivate kids,\u201d he said. \u201cI want them to know it\u2019s not where you start, it\u2019s where you finish. I\u2019m a testament to this.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Mother\u2019s Day, Lewis will send flowers to his mom, his everything. He\u2019ll send some money \u2013 enough to get her nails done, maybe go to the spa and get pampered.<\/p>\n
In 2021, Lewis took her to Miami, they visited Sea World, checked out some terrific restaurants, relaxed and enjoyed their time together.<\/p>\n
They still talk nearly every day. And Lewis appreciates her honesty.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mom is a realist; she doesn\u2019t live in a fantasy land,\u201d he said. \u201cShe\u2019ll tell me the raw truth; that\u2019s how I like it. I like it when people are straight up. She\u2019d tell me to prepare for the worst, hope for the best. But be your best to be successful.<\/p>\n
Father\u2019s Day won\u2019t seem quite the same.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just different,\u201d said Lewis, who is often called Geno instead of Eugene. \u201cMy dad was never really mushy-mushy; he was never that type of guy. There are things we disagree on, but we can agree to disagree. It\u2019s more of a respect thing. When you\u2019re dealing with him, it\u2019s different. It\u2019s hard to explain. But I\u2019m super grateful for everything.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t take anything for granted. I have friends whose mothers or fathers aren\u2019t around. Everything\u2019s not always perfect. There are times I don\u2019t want to talk to my mother or father. But I also realize someday they\u2019re not going to be here.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey made me, they helped me to get to where I am. I\u2019m thankful to them for giving me life. My motivation, my love, my consistency and my sense of awareness come from them. They told me not to be selfish. They taught me about patience and being able to communicate.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Day One of training camp for the REDBLACKS, the players will have football on their minds. But, like Lewis, many of them will also be thinking about their mothers, there will be a lot of thankfulness from afar. And there\u2019ll be a lot of love in their hearts.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a quote that\u2019s circulated through the years.<\/p>\n
\u201cMothers hold their children\u2019s hands for a short while, but their hearts forever.\u201d<\/p>\n
Truer words couldn\u2019t be spoken.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mother\u2019s Day has a special meaning for Ottawa REDBLACKS receiver Eugene Lewis. Until a few years back, though,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":660855,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-660854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=660854"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660854\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/660855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=660854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=660854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=660854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}