The Former Athlete to Street Dude Pipeline

Comments · 503

• LO

  @lobagshock3218 · 11 days ago

  My husband and I were honest with our son about his dream of becoming a NBA player. He ended up becoming a top 3 volleyball player in the state and is now attending university to become an electrical engineer with a minor in business administration and he is learning to be an electrician as a trade in case AI becomes an issue in the engineering field. He is on scholarship and we are funding his trade as an electrician. We sat him down and talked through everything he wanted to do and fuel his passion. Give your kids options and I promise you won’t be sorry!

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• JE

  @jennie845 · 11 days ago (edited)

  Ryan Coogler was playing college football, got injured and pivoted to filmmaking, something he is passionate about & truly gifted in. There’s a life beyond sports for black men.

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• JO

  @Joyful_Smiles · 11 days ago

  It starts with the parents.<br>Educate your child to give them options.

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• NI

  @nicolespruitt675 · 11 days ago

  Number 1 trait to instill in children is curiosity. It&apos;s a whole world to explore that makes the hood life look lame.

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• BL

  @blus17 · 11 days ago

  This plays into the whole &quot;why are there no black American actors&quot; because theater and arts are seen as flamboyant and not masculine. Tons of programs created for us that are slowly dying cause parents won&apos;t put their kids in them. Alvin Ailey is one I can think of

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• WH

  @who818 · 11 days ago

  As somebody who was a professional athlete, My sports psychologist told me if I invested my time into anything else I would have been a doctor in that field. Really sinks in when your career is over and your knees busted.

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• ME

  @melvonjohnson5711 · 11 days ago

  Black men often feel boxed into sports and entertainment because society aggressively rewards those fields while ignoring and blocking their potential in corporate, academic, and professional spaces----and yes, I was raised in the mean streets of Chicago, but I overcame that environment because I knew I had the potential to be far more than just an athlete or an entertainer-----most of these dudes feel like they can&apos;t strive to be anything else---its beyond sad smh..

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• MA

  @marshandwoods8809 · 11 days ago

  The NBA draft only drafts 60 people per year. Parents definitely need to have that realistic convo with their kids.

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• MI

  @mikestems508 · 11 days ago

  Our community definitely needs doctors lawyers and engineers. I’d say we need these more than anything because these are the people who help build innovate, and establish new infrastructure and institutions

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• WO

  @wonky373grogjgbf · 11 days ago

  Q50 was 5”3 he wasn’t going anywhere with those hoop dreams😂

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• IM

  @iMariUniverse · 11 days ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DAmooEXN28&amp;t=85">1:25</a> maybe the biggest problem is these kids don’t understand how to deal with rejection… it’s okay to fail once and try again. Or try twice and even three times… but IF they never go to the NBA, pursuit a BA and even MBA in another field… <br><br>And they sound hella drugged out. Which is another conversation.

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• AR

  @artemisPrime3285 · 11 days ago

  I thought as a kid we were entirely over represented in sports and underrepresented in science and business so I hit the books hard as a kid to focus on changing that.

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