Kerekes Column: The friendliest athletes I’ve met

Published 11:19 pm Saturday, January 20, 2018

A conversation with a coworker this past week made me think back at some of the more famous athletes I’ve met in my lifetime.

Jim Brock, our government reporter, is from Memphis and mentioned to me how he met a Memphis Grizzlies player once who was one of the nicest people he’s ever come across. I don’t remember the name of the player he mentioned, but it got me to thinking about some of the nicer folks I’ve met in the wide world of sports.

When you have enough athletic prowess to excel at your sport to the point where you can play it professionally, it’s human nature to get a little cocky, or even more than a little cocky. It’s why I don’t hold it against players who I meet if they show themselves to be a bit arrogant, but it’s also why I’ve grown to appreciate the ones who manage to stay down-to-earth despite their success.

This list actually features athletes I’ve met both before I became a sports writer and after I joined the business, but regardless, they’ve left a lasting impression on me as far as how they carry themselves.

When I was a child still living in New Jersey, me and my friend Phil were taken to some sort of NASCAR event by Phil’s father that featured Rusty Wallace. I can’t remember if it was an actual race or just a meet-and-greet, but I do remember us walking up to an area where he was entering the complex. (This would have been in either 1994 or 1995, when I was around 7 years old.) Since Phil’s dad was such a cool dad, he walked up to the group and asked Wallace if he would let me and Phil take a picture with him.

Of course, Wallace’s security detail absolutely did not want him to do that, but Wallace insisted to them that it was fine, and we got to pose for the picture anyway. Later on, we exited the complex to see a really long line of people waiting for their turn to do the same thing, and Phil’s father couldn’t believe that Wallace was nice enough to let us take the picture with him earlier despite that not being what we were supposed to have done. It was a long time ago, but that memory of Wallace’s kindness has always stuck with me.

When I was in college, I was a member of a Bible study group that was headed by former University of Alabama defensive back Jeremiah Castille. For those Alabama fans not old enough to remember, Castille played defensive back for Alabama from 1979-82 and would go on to have a six-year NFL career. His sons Tim and Simeon also played for Alabama in the 2000s, and his youngest son, Caleb Castille, walked on at Alabama before later starring in the movie “Woodlawn” as Tony Nathan.

I imagine Jeremiah Castille probably gets pulled in a million directions with his ministry and his Alabama connections, but I will never forget how he always made time for those of us in his Bible study, whether it was coming down on Tuesdays for our regular meetings or hosting us at his house for mini leadership summits. That kind of accessibility for someone of his stature speaks to what kind of man he is — his passion is to teach the Gospel, and he makes time to do it no matter what.

My first job out of college was in Natchez, and when I arrived there, one of my first stories was talking to an LSU running back named Stevan Ridley. Ridley had attended Trinity Episcopal Day School in Natchez prior to my time there and helped the Saints win a state championship during his high school career before signing with LSU to continue his football career. After a strong college career, Ridley went on to be drafted by the New England Patriots and had several strong seasons there, the highlight being his 2012 season, when he rushed for 1,263 and 12 touchdowns.

Since Ridley would often visit Natchez during the offseason, I got to interact with him a number of times. He’s a super-friendly guy who was humbled to represent his small city on the national stage and was always a pleasure to talk to. He was also a reporter’s dream interview, because he’s highly intelligent and gives thoughtful answers to questions, so any story I wrote that featured him contained some of the best quotes you can possibly get. I’ve always said the better the quotes, the better the stories, which is why any story featuring Ridley were always good stories.

I’d be remiss not to mention the fact Ridley clearly takes after his mother, Carolyn Ridley, in terms of his kindness and intelligence — and especially, his grace. Since Ridley is a hometown hero in Natchez, I always tried to do a couple of stories a year updating readers on how he was doing. Since he’s a professional athlete, Ridley is a busy guy, so I would constantly get in touch with his mother and ask her to let Ridley know I wanted to interview him. I’m sure that had to be annoying to them both, but they never complained and always treated me kindly, and that’s something this young-at-the-time reporter always appreciated about them both.

Last, but certainly not least, I wanted to highlight just how nice of a person former Ole Miss quarterback and NFL wide receiver Michael Spurlock is. In our inaugural year of doing a Premier Preps banquet last May, we needed a keynote speaker, and Spurlock was more than up to the task. Not only did he give a good speech, but he was down-to-earth enough to spend time afterward talking to our staff and taking pictures with our guest athletes.

It wasn’t until I did a story a little while later on Spurlock’s Second Wind Foundation that I really began to appreciate who he is as a person, however. Whether it’s a mentorship program to help children or an exercise program to get children in good, healthy shape, Spurlock’s goal is to give back to young people and offer them certain opportunities he maybe didn’t have as a kid. It was no wonder, then, that he was more than happy to speak at our inaugural banquet and share with the athletes in attendance life lessons he picked up from his playing days. It’s as natural to him as playing football probably was.

These are just a small handful of a much larger list, but a common trait among all of the people I listed is generosity. Whether it’s as simple as letting some kids take a picture with them, pouring into people’s lives or not getting too irritated with a persistent reporter, all four of them proved in one way or another they have a generous heart. Athletic ability comes and goes, but you can never stop being generous, and they all showed the kind of character they had in my interactions with them. 

Drew Kerekes is the sports editor at The Meridian Star. He can be reached at dkerekes@themeridianstar.com.