What's Your Platform?

We often see celebrity athletes or coaches use their high profile exposure in front of television cameras as an opportunity to share a personal message. This is sometimes referred to as “having a platform”. Some of these athletes and coaches have taken the opportunity to share a Bible message or a statement of their personal relationship with Jesus Christ. In the BCS Championship football game this year you may have seen Tim Tebow’s “John 3:16” message written on his eye black. Tebow has certainly used his “platform” to share his faith and open doors for ministry. One NFL coach who has taken advantage of his “platform” has been Tony Dungy, the recently retired coach of the Indianapolis Colts.

In Dungy’s new book, Uncommon, he shares a unique perspective on “having a platform”. You might be aware that Dungy had a son that committed suicide about a year before the Colts won the Super Bowl in 2007. In Uncommon, Dungy shares a story of a father who had called him because his son appeared to be slipping into depression and considering suicide. This was because the son’s finance had died in an accident prior to their wedding date. The father asked Dungy if he would call his son and share words of encouragement with him. Over the next few weeks Coach Dungy called the young man several times. He told him that, “it may not seem like it at the moment, but things would get better, and ending his life wasn’t the answer. There were more people than he realized who cared about him who he would leave behind, crushed. They would wonder what they should have done, what they could have done. He would leave an empty hole in their hearts.”

Dungy knew the loss that the young man was feeling and tried to help him understand that “while the ache may always stay with us, God will help us push through.” After a few weeks passed, including the date on which the son would have been married, Dungy said that he could tell that the young man was beginning to “push through the dark clouds to find a ray or two of sunlight”. In one conversation, the young man began to thank Dungy for his encouragement and asked him what he did. “By the way,” he said, “what is it that you do”? Dungy told him that he was a coach. “Oh, cool,” the son said, “High school or college?” He didn’t even know that he had been talking to a NFL Super Bowl Championship coach.

The point is that the young man didn’t care that Dungy was anybody famous. He was just a guy that his dad knew who had lost a son – and who cared enough to take the time to call him. Dungy’s platform was not that he was a famous NFL coach, but that he had lost a son to suicide.

What a powerful story for all of us to realize that it is not fame, notoriety, or celebrity that gives us the “platform” for touching other lives. It is the life experiences that God gives us whereby we realize His grace and recognize that He alone can meet our deepest needs. This story leaves me with just one question, “What’s my platform?”

How about you? Have you really thought about what your platform is? It may not be related to sports even though you are highly involved in them.

Purchase Tony Dungy's new book,Uncommon, here.

Let Kids be Kids!

On a weekend with a multitude of sports stories of varied interest, there was one story that made me look twice to be sure that what I was reading was for real. It wasn’t anything surrounding the NBA All-Star weekend, even though Kryptonite (5’ 9” - Nate Robinson) defeating Superman (6’ 11” Dwight Howard) in the dunk contest was pretty entertaining. It wasn't about MLB, spring training, performance enhancing drugs and A-Rod. It wasn’t anything surrounding the two major sporting events affected by the weather, the Daytona 500 and the AT&T Pro-Am at Pebble Beach. It wasn’t even anything surrounding some of the most exciting sporting events to watch at this time of year, NCAA college basketball. It was about a 12-year old football prospect. That’s right! A 12-year old, NCAA Division I football quarterback prospect.

My first reaction was, “Come on . . . a 12-year old that could be the next Peyton Manning or Ben Roethlisberger?” How could any scout figure that out? The kid’s voice probably hasn’t even changed yet.

My next reaction was, “What are college coaches or NFL football scouts doing checking out a 12-year old? Certainly they’ve crossed the line in trying to find the next future star athlete. Can’t kids just be kids anymore?

As I read the article further, my final reaction was, “What are the parents doing marketing a 12-year old? Are times so tough that the best investment a parent can make for their children’s future education is in sending them to specialized coaches and elite camps? Is the best way to invest for a child’s college education through pushing, packaging, promoting and marketing them to secure an athletic scholarship?

In my opinion kids are growing up too fast these days. The push to be too specialized in a specific sport, too soon, creates situations that can result in burnout. The kids barely have a chance to be kids. I recently saw a video of five-star basketball recruit Elena Delle Donne who, after signing with the University of Connecticut, stayed on campus less than two days before returning home. She said she was sick and tired of hoops and has been doubting (since the time she was 13 years old) whether she really wanted to keep playing. Her parents seemed stunned to find this out. While Elena has tremendous talent for basketball, it seemed like she never really even had a chance to choose what activities interested her most.

Both of these stories ought to raise concerns in parents about pushing their kids too aggressively. Parents, let the kids have fun and don’t try to re-live your lives through them. Coaches, keep things in perspective and don’t make them only work at the specific sport you coach. Help children develop a balanced life and let them pursue things that interest them. There will be a time to “narrow the focus down” and “pursue a specific passion”, but not when they are 10 – 12 years old. Let’s get back to letting kids be kids.

Read more about 12-year old, David Sills here.

Watch the video of Elena Delle Donne and "burnout"