What do Jennifer Capriatti, Aaron Hernandez, Freddy Adu and Jay Williams have in common?
Here is a hint: Jay Williams
A McDonald’s All-American in 1999, Williams averaged 19.3 points and 6.0 assists in three brilliant seasons at Duke and was named national player of the year as a junior. He was selected No. 2 in 2002 by the Chicago Bulls, who expected Williams to be a franchise point guard for years to come. He averaged 9.5 points and 4.7 assists per game in what would be his only NBA season.
Traumatic injuries — including nerve damage in his left leg and a broken pelvis — suffered when he crashed his motorcycle after his rookie season curtailed his promising career. He attempted a comeback, signing with the New Jersey Nets at one point, but he never played in another NBA game. Williams is now a college basketball analyst for ESPN.
Touted by some as “the next Pele,” Adu — at age 14 — became the youngest athlete to sign a professional contract in the United States after DC United selected him in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft. Before turning 15, the Ghana native, who moved to the U.S. at age 8, became the youngest player to appear in an MLS game and the youngest to score a goal.
Despite a promising start to his career, Adu never lived up to his lofty expectations. He has become a journeyman, playing for 13 teams in eight countries by the age of 26. He currently plays for the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the North American Soccer League, a Division II league below MLS.
Hernandez won the 2009 John Mackey Award, presented annually to college football’s best tight end, as a junior at Florida. The Patriots drafted him in the fourth round in 2010 and teamed him with Rob Gronkowski to form a formidable tight end tandem. After Hernandez caught 79 passes for 910 yards and seven touchdowns in 2011, New England rewarded him with a five-year extension that included a $12.5 million signing bonus — a record for a tight end. “I’m glad it worked out,” coach Bill Belichick said of the deal.
The Patriots released Hernandez on June 26, 2013, after he was arrested on murder charges. He was found guilty in 2015 and sentenced to life in prison.
She made her professional debut in 1990 at the age of 13 years, 11 months, reaching the final of the hard-court tournament in Boca Raton, Florida. She reached the semifinals of the French Open in her debut and later became the youngest-ever player to reach the top 10, at age 14 years, 235 days, in October of that year.
Capriati only played one match in 1994, losing in the first round of Philadelphia to Anke Huber. She fell off the rankings in June. She did not play at all in 1995. In 1997-1998 Capriati did not play the first half of 1998. By the spring, she was ranked below the top 200. 2004: Final full season Injuries plagued Capriati’s 2004 season.
Here is the kicker: Capriati was born in New York City to Denise and Stefano Capriati, of Italian descent.In 1993, at age 17, Capriati was charged with shoplifting a $15 ring from a mall kiosk, which she has described as accidental.
She was arrested on May 16, 1994, and charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession. She agreed to enter a drug counseling program. In 2010, she required treatment for a drug overdose. In 2013, Capriati was charged with battery and stalking after reportedly following and striking former boyfriend Ivan Brennan on Valentine’s Day. The charges were later dropped. In 2014, the state attorney’s office in Palm Beach County, Florida, announced that Capriati had completed 30 hours of community service and four hours of anger management counseling in connection with the incident.
Have you figured it out yet?
Great potential either never realized or the journey to greatest was riddled with difficulties.
While this could easily be a post about the incredibly difficult task of being a professional athlete. In a very controversial Nike Commercial Charles Barkley said “Just because I can dunk a basketball doesn’t mean I should raise your kids…I am not a role model.” You can hear in his voice the frustration athletes feel from just this one aspect of being a professional athlete and that is being watched all of the time. Add to that trying to balance life and wealth, for many the likes of which they never imagined having. The personnel required to manage the new life. Add to that the number of new people who are trying to get to their money. (God knows there are plenty of stories of professional athletes being ripped off by people close to them. See Mike Tyson. Tyson, Mike; Sloman, Larry (November 12, 2013). Undisputed Truth. Blue Rider Press. ISBN 978-0399161285.)
The solution is simple for many of these athletes. Find the person who you trust to help you handle it all and maybe that person is really a group of people. The key however is trust. Capriatti began as a professional at age 13. Maybe that is why the NBA created a rule that all drafted players must be at least 19 years old during the calendar year of the draft and set up a detailed mentoring program for young athletes.
Their bodies may have matured but maybe not their emotional development. It is why Micheal Phelps teamed up with Talkspace to launch the Permission Slip campaign, which aims to inspire people to give themselves a symbolic “mental health permission slip” and take action for their own mental well-being.
Recently, much has been said about VP candidate Tim Walz. The most significant or at least the piece of his personal history that has resonated most with people is the fact that he was a high school coach. At the Democratic National Convention they even dragged some of his former athletes out onto the stage to represent that he really cared about the athlete.
Or even more poignant is when the Miami Dolphins quarterback was injured on a play and As Tagovailoa walked off the field on his own accord, Miami coach Mike McDaniel strolled right at his side. And before the two parted ways, McDaniel leaned over and gave Tagovailoa a kiss on the forehead.
We all need someone who cares about us, who has our best interests in mind. So many of these child athletes whether they are professional or not are pushed by parents to do more, achieve more even when it is not in their child’s best interest. Even if they are doing damage to them. I watch athletes playing and the camera will pan to their player box or to the stands to see the reaction of those family members and people closest to the player’s reaction. I can only imagine the athlete is doing it also, never wanting to let them down.
The pressures and stresses abound for everyone and may even be more dynamic and complex for the impressionable, young athlete. Like them we need to know someone has our backs. I can’t help but think about how Jennifer Capriatti, Aaron Hernandez, Freddy Adu and Jay Williams stories would be different if they truly had someone looking out for them.