Jamesetta Cleveland disagrees with a saying popular in sports circles: \u201cBall is life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Instead, she believes in the opportunities created by sports. Going beyond performance on the field is what\u2019s key, said Cleveland, founder of Sports Mom University, a consulting agency that navigates a student-athlete\u2019s recruiting and playing sports professionally.<\/p>\n
That statement was echoed Thursday at the \u201cNFL Dads\u201d panel at Point Park University, where four men whose sons are playing in the NFL talked about what\u2019s involved in parenting a high-level athlete. the panelists were Terrence Parsons, father of Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Micah Parsons; Lamont Ramsey, father of Steelers cornerback Jalen Ramsey; Stacy Elliott, father of Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott; and Tony Williams, father of Steelers cornerback Brandin Echols.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll my kids were athletes \u2026. but it wasn\u2019t until somebody said hey, you never know what your kids can do until you take them outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania,\u201d Parsons said. \u201cMeeting people outside your hometown and seeing how you measure up is big.\u201d<\/p>\n
Opportunities include networking and branding \u2014 but with that comes challenges. Parents want to make sure their sons are making the best decisions that are financially responsible, align with their morals and work with people with good intentions for them.<\/p>\n
\u201cGo back to the people who were with you, when nobody knew if you were going to make it to the NFL, or NBA or MLB,\u201d Ramsey said. \u201cGo back and look at who\u2019s in that circle then, and then look at who\u2019s in that circle now, and see if you can cross-reference in those circles.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fame can be difficult, Elliott said. As his son went through Ohio State and later the Dallas Cowboys, the reality of having a \u201cnormal life\u201d became lessened. It was important to remain grounded.<\/p>\n
\u201cEzekiel, by nature, is a very humble guy,\u201d he said. \u201cMy son will be 31 in July. My opportunity has been more about developing a relationship with me as a young adult.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ramsey emphasized to his children the importance of getting a degree, being a good person and working hard. All four dads said their children \u2014 NFL stars or not \u2014 were treated and loved the same in their households. It wasn\u2019t difficult to support each of their children the same.<\/p>\n
\u201cSports is not who we are,\u201d Ramsey said. \u201cIt\u2019s what we do to get where we are and to get where we want to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
An active, present father is crucial for a child\u2019s development, said Cleveland.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe best place ever to get to know your child is at the dinner table,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n
Athletes should be preparing now for their future when their playing days end. It\u2019s better to capitalize on opportunities now while players are still active because they are still recognizable to the public.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did my best to prep my son,\u201d Elliott said. \u201cWe want him to know, we are here to love you. You came in the world and contribute to civilization and be a great citizen in America.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jamesetta Cleveland disagrees with a saying popular in sports circles: \u201cBall is life.\u201d Instead, she believes in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":174483,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[73,75,74],"class_list":{"0":"post-174482","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh","8":"tag-pittsburgh","9":"tag-pittsburgh-headlines","10":"tag-pittsburgh-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174482\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/174483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}