On Thursday, inside a small courtroom in a small Mississippi town (population 202), the football world awaited a decision on the college eligibility of Ole Miss star quarterback Trinidad Chambliss.
Chambliss would eventually be granted an injunction against the NCAA that would provide him with a sixth year of eligibility and send him back to Oxford as a Heisman favorite for the championship-contending Rebels. The NFL draft would have to wait another year.
Yet for all the importance of the decision, the most passionately discussed topic that arose was about… parenthood?
Part of Chambliss' argument was that in 2022, a severe case of tonsillitis significantly affected his sleep and caused him to not see action on the field, entitling him to a medical redshirt season.
Ole Miss quarterbacks coach Joe Judge, former head coach of the New York Giants, was called to testify on Chambliss' behalf. One of the questions was about the importance of sleep for soccer players.
Judge decided to draw on both his professional and college experience and discuss how he handled players who had a child born during the season…and their loved ones.
“We would have to educate,” Judge said of the conversations he would have with the baby's mother. “It's always a difficult conversation to have. It's not even popular.
“We would have to educate significant others who may have been pregnant during the season or had a baby during the season,” Judge continued.
“And you have to educate them about, 'You have this baby in the middle of the season, that dad has to play good football, right? It's a day-to-day production business. He has to be ready to perform and go out and play… You have to let him sleep. He has to be in another room, separate.'”
“You have to explain to the mother, 'Hey, listen, he's not going to wake up to nurse in the middle of the night. After the season, he has a metal jacket. Do whatever you want with him. He can change all the diapers. But in the season, he has to have different priorities,'” Judge concluded.
Soccer coaches don't just teach the game, they teach life lessons…since 1948.
Let's give Joe Judge some grace here. The married father of four children is known in football for his decency and for being extremely family-oriented, something that is not universal in that business. Testifying can also be stressful, and if I had repeated it, I probably would have omitted that analogy or at least added a more detailed explanation.
He was trying to do something to help his player get a court order; I certainly didn't expect it to go viral.
And look, if one parent wants to go through the meat grinder of taking care of every midnight feeding, diaper change, etc., all so the other parent can spend 10 hours in another room a night because they have to play in Arkansas next week, hey, that's up to the couple.
Or maybe what Judge was suggesting, considering how much money college players make, much less his former NFL players, was to hire a night nurse or get family help to ease the burden.
With that said, a passionate debate broke out about paternity.
“Don't listen to this, young people,” DeMarvion Overshown, a Dallas Cowboys linebacker (and father of two) wrote on social media above a video clip of Judge's comments. “Be there for the mother of your child and let the rest take care of themselves.
“Those midnight feedings turn into financial freedom, because nothing will inspire you more than being a great dad,” Overshown concluded.
Overshown couldn't be more right about that.
Being a parent isn't about being a parent when it's convenient and you're well rested. It's about being there for the hard things, and there will be more hard things than a new parent can even imagine, much harder than waking up at 2 a.m. (little kids, small problems; big kids, big problems).
Those first moments are about connecting with a child you love more than you could have ever imagined, a bond that will refocus your entire world to the point where you would do anything for them, including striving to become the best version of yourself.
That includes trying to embrace maturity and responsibility, focus and perspective. It can push you to be a better student, a better worker, a better friend, and certainly a better partner.
There is no doubt that adequate rest helps athletes, but it can also change selfishness for selflessness and teamwork. Showing a child respect for his mother may be the most important thing you can do.
Balancing work and home is one of life's great challenges, whether the office is a full football stadium or not. Providing for your family is part of every parent's job, but providing means much more than just money.
Those midnight feedings tend to produce midnight lessons that you can't learn any other way.
